LocalRedact: Local redaction desk for small-business paperwork

Swaps out names, addresses, and VINs locally before documents go to any API

Problem

Small merchants' paperwork is full of names, addresses, and vehicle details. They want to use AI or APIs but worry about privacy; local models run but need more RAM than old office PCs have, and zero-retention deals with big APIs are enterprise-only. The middle path — redact locally, then send to the cloud — has no ready-made tool.

Solution

A desktop tool that uses local OCR (e.g., PaddleOCR) to extract text, then rules plus models identify names, addresses, ID numbers, and license plates, replacing them with placeholders so users can upload the redacted file to any API. Results can be restored locally afterward. Original files never leave the machine.

Users

Small merchants handling lots of paper forms: accountants, repair shops, insurance agents, small law firms

MVP

Import PDFs/images; local OCR extraction; detect and replace 4-5 sensitive entity types; export redacted files; one-click restore map

Revenue

Desktop one-time $39 per seat; $129 for 5 seats; per-page API version for integrators

Why now

Small merchants are starting to try AI on receipts and forms, but privacy is the biggest blocker; local OCR models are now light enough to run on ordinary office PCs