Data Masking

Overview

Data Masking works by scanning text for sensitive data patterns and replacing them with masked placeholders. Returns both the masked text and detection statistics for multiple data types.

Endpoint

One host, one path per API. The block below shows this call in four languages; every one of them is the same HTTP request. Making requests covers the timeouts, retries and parameter rules that apply to all of them. The SDKs wrap the same call in a typed client.

curl -X POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking \
  -H "x-api-key: your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "text": "Contact John Doe at john.doe@email.com or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
}'

const res = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "text": "Contact John Doe at john.doe@email.com or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
}),
});

if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);

const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

import requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking",
    headers={"x-api-key": "your_api_key_here"},
    json={
    "text": "Contact John Doe at john.doe@email.com or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
},
    timeout=15,
)
res.raise_for_status()

print(res.json()["data"])

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"strings"
)

func main() {
	body := strings.NewReader(`{
  "text": "Contact John Doe at john.doe@email.com or call 555-123-4567. His SSN is 123-45-6789."
}`)
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/datamasking", body)
	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
	req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "your_api_key_here")

	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	out, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(out))
}

Replace your_api_key_here with the key from your dashboard. When the inputs arrive as a list rather than one at a time, batch requests run up to 200 of them through this same API in a single call.

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — there is no token exchange and no per-endpoint scope to configure. Authentication covers creating, rotating and revoking keys.

Parameters

Sent as JSON in the request body. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

Response

Every API returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape. Response format covers the envelope, the other output formats and how premium fields are withheld.

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "masked": "Contact John Doe at [EMAIL] or call [PHONE]. His SSN is [SSN].",
    "detected": {
      "email": 1,
      "phone": 1,
      "ssn": 1,
      "credit_card": 0,
      "ip_address": 0,
      "url": 0,
      "date": 0
    }
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change. Error handling covers the full status list and which of them are worth retrying.

Use cases

GDPR Compliance

Automatically mask PII in logs, documents, and communications to comply with GDPR and privacy regulations

Data Anonymization

Anonymize sensitive customer data in datasets before sharing with third parties or using for testing

Log Sanitization

Remove sensitive information from application logs and error messages before storing or analyzing

Content Moderation

Mask sensitive data in user-generated content, support tickets, or public forums to protect privacy

Other ways to use Data Masking

Set up Data Masking on APIVerve, or reach the same source a different way. Your APIVerve account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

Related

More in Text Processing: