> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://relevanceai.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Visual Data Masking

> Protect sensitive information in the UI while agents continue to work with actual data

<Warning>
  Visual Data Masking is an Enterprise-only feature currently in limited beta. It is not available on Free, Pro, or Team plans. To have this feature enabled for your organization, contact your account manager or [reach out to support](/get-started/support).
</Warning>

<Warning>
  The AI model used for PII detection can occasionally miss sensitive information. Do not rely on Visual Data Masking as your sole privacy control for highly sensitive data. This is a known limitation of the beta.
</Warning>

Visual Data Masking is a front-end privacy feature that automatically masks standard PII (Personally Identifiable Information) fields in conversation histories and task views. This protects confidential information when viewing agent interactions in the UI, during screen sharing, or when reviewing tasks with your team.

## How Visual Data Masking works

Visual Data Masking operates at the UI layer only. When enabled, sensitive information is masked in what you see on screen, but agents continue to access and process the actual, unmasked data.

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="What you see" icon="eye-slash">
    Masked values like `***@***.com` or `***-***-1234` in conversation histories
  </Card>

  <Card title="What agents see" icon="robot">
    Full, unmasked data for processing, reasoning, and tool execution
  </Card>
</Columns>

This approach ensures privacy during UI viewing while maintaining full agent functionality. The backend data remains completely unchanged—Visual Data Masking only affects the display layer.

## When to use Visual Data Masking

Enable Visual Data Masking when you need to protect sensitive information from being visible in the UI:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Handling customer data" icon="users">
    When agents process customer information like email addresses, phone numbers, or payment details, Visual Data Masking prevents this data from being visible to team members reviewing conversations.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Screen sharing and demos" icon="screen-users">
    During product demonstrations, training sessions, or customer calls where you're sharing your screen, Visual Data Masking ensures sensitive information isn't accidentally exposed.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Team reviews and QA" icon="clipboard-check">
    When multiple team members review agent conversations for quality assurance or training purposes, Visual Data Masking protects customer privacy while allowing evaluation of agent performance.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Compliance requirements" icon="shield-check">
    For organizations with regulatory requirements around data visibility, Visual Data Masking adds an extra layer of protection when viewing agent interactions. However, it should be used alongside other privacy controls, not as the sole protection mechanism.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Supported PII types

Visual Data Masking automatically detects and masks the following types of sensitive information:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Email addresses" icon="envelope">
    Masks email addresses like `user@example.com` → `***@***.com`
  </Card>

  <Card title="Phone numbers" icon="phone">
    Masks phone numbers like `(555) 123-4567` → `***-***-1234`
  </Card>

  <Card title="Credit card numbers" icon="credit-card">
    Masks credit card numbers like `4532 1234 5678 9010` → `****-****-****-9010`
  </Card>

  <Card title="Person names" icon="user">
    Masks person names like `John Smith` → `**** *****`
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Detection happens automatically in real-time as conversations are displayed in the UI using AI-powered pattern recognition.

## Configuration options

Visual Data Masking is a simple toggle feature with **no advanced configuration options**. When enabled:

* **All four PII types are automatically masked** - You cannot select which types to mask
* **Masking format is fixed** - You cannot customize the placeholder text or masking pattern
* **No detection sensitivity controls** - You cannot adjust the AI detection threshold or rules
* **No custom PII types** - You cannot add organization-specific sensitive data patterns
* **Same rules for all data** - All detected PII is masked using the same approach

This simplicity makes Visual Data Masking easy to enable, but limits flexibility for organizations with specific masking requirements.

## Enabling Visual Data Masking

### For agents

To enable Visual Data Masking on an agent:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open agent settings">
    Navigate to your agent in the Agent Builder.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Access Advanced settings">
    Click **Advanced** in the bottom-left navigation panel.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the General tab">
    In the Advanced settings panel, click the **General** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enable Visual Data Masking">
    Toggle on **Visual Data Masking** to enable the feature for this agent.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save changes">
    Your changes are saved automatically. Visual Data Masking will now apply to all conversation histories for this agent.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### For workforces

<Warning>
  If any agent in a workforce has Visual Data Masking enabled, the entire workforce will mask PII across all task views and conversation histories — not just that individual agent. Enable this feature at the agent level only when you intend this cascading behavior.
</Warning>

To enable Visual Data Masking on a workforce:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open workforce settings">
    Navigate to your workforce and click the **Settings** icon in the top right.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Access Advanced settings">
    Click **Advanced** in the settings panel.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enable Visual Data Masking">
    Toggle on **Visual Data Masking** to enable the feature for this workforce.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save changes">
    Your changes are saved automatically. Visual Data Masking will now apply to all task views and conversation histories for this workforce.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What is and isn't masked

### What IS masked

Visual Data Masking applies to these UI elements:

* **Agent conversation histories** in the Task View
* **Workforce task displays** showing agent interactions
* **Message content** displayed in conversation logs
* **Tool inputs and outputs** visible in the UI conversation flow
* **Any front-end conversation data display** in the Relevance AI platform

### What ISN'T masked

Visual Data Masking does NOT apply to:

* **Backend data storage** - Data is stored unmasked in the database
* **Agent processing** - Agents always work with unmasked, actual data
* **Tool execution** - Tools receive and process unmasked data
* **LLM requests** - Language models receive unmasked data for processing
* **API responses** - Data returned via API is unmasked
* **Data exports** - Exported data contains unmasked information
* **Backend logs** - Internal system logs contain unmasked data
* **Event streaming** - OTEL events exported to S3 contain unmasked data (unless PII Redaction is enabled)

<Warning>
  Visual Data Masking is a UI-only feature. It does not modify, encrypt, or redact data at the storage or processing level. Backend data remains completely unchanged. For backend data protection, see [PII Redaction](#visual-data-masking-vs-pii-redaction).
</Warning>

## Visual Data Masking vs PII Redaction

Visual Data Masking and PII Redaction are **complementary features** that protect sensitive information at different stages. They serve different purposes and are designed to work together for comprehensive privacy protection.

| Feature               | Visual Data Masking                      | PII Redaction                                |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| **Availability**      | Enterprise only (limited beta)           | Enterprise only                              |
| **Where it applies**  | Front-end UI display                     | Backend data export to S3                    |
| **What it does**      | Visual masking only                      | Data is scrubbed before export               |
| **Data modification** | No - backend data unchanged              | Yes - PII removed from exports               |
| **Use case**          | UI privacy, screen sharing, team reviews | Compliance, audit logs, observability        |
| **Applies to**        | Task View, conversation UI               | S3 event streaming (OTEL)                    |
| **Configuration**     | Toggle only (no options)                 | Advanced (entity types, actions, thresholds) |
| **Detection method**  | AI detection (can miss PII)              | Presidio-powered ML engine                   |
| **Agent access**      | Agents see unmasked data                 | Agents see unmasked data                     |

### Complementary use

These features are designed to work together, not replace each other:

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Visual Data Masking" icon="eye-slash">
    Protects privacy when humans view agent conversations in the UI. Use for screen sharing, team collaboration, and internal reviews.
  </Card>

  <Card title="PII Redaction" icon="database">
    Protects data exported to your observability infrastructure. Use for compliance, audit logs, and external data analysis.
  </Card>
</Columns>

**Recommended approach:** Enable both features for comprehensive protection:

* **Visual Data Masking** (Enterprise) protects what your team sees in the platform UI
* **PII Redaction** (Enterprise) protects what gets exported to your S3 bucket for compliance

Together, these features provide defense in depth: UI privacy for internal collaboration and backend data protection for external systems.

<Info>
  Learn more about [PII Redaction for Event Streaming](/enterprise/streaming-events#pii-redaction-enterprise-feature).
</Info>

## Best practices

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="When to enable">
    ### Enable Visual Data Masking when:

    * Your agents handle customer PII regularly
    * Multiple team members review agent conversations
    * You frequently share your screen during demos or training
    * You need an extra layer of privacy protection in the UI
    * Compliance policies require limiting PII visibility

    ### Consider NOT enabling when:

    * You need to see actual values for debugging or troubleshooting
    * Your agents don't process sensitive information
    * You're the only person accessing the agent
    * Masked values would make conversation review difficult

    ### Important limitations to consider:

    * **Do not rely solely on Visual Data Masking** for critical privacy requirements
    * **Test with sample data** to understand detection accuracy for your use case
    * **Combine with PII Redaction** (Enterprise) for comprehensive privacy protection
    * **Remember AI detection can miss PII** - this is not a foolproof solution
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Combining with other features">
    ### Layer your security

    Visual Data Masking works best as part of a comprehensive security strategy:

    * **[PII Redaction](/enterprise/streaming-events#pii-redaction-enterprise-feature)** (Enterprise) - Protect exported audit logs and telemetry data
    * **[User Level Authentication](/enterprise/user-level-authentication)** - Ensure users only access their own data in integrations
    * **[RBAC](/enterprise/rbac)** - Control who can access agents and view conversations
    * **[Data Retention](/enterprise/data-retention)** - Automatically delete old sensitive data

    Each feature protects data at a different layer, creating defense in depth.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Testing and validation">
    ### Verify masking behavior

    Before rolling out Visual Data Masking to production agents:

    1. **Test with sample data** - Run test conversations with known PII to verify masking works as expected
    2. **Check detection accuracy** - Verify that the AI model detects the PII formats you use
    3. **Test edge cases** - Try international phone numbers, unusual email formats, and context-specific data
    4. **Check all views** - Verify masking appears in task views, conversation histories, and workforce views
    5. **Confirm agent functionality** - Ensure agents can still process data correctly despite UI masking
    6. **Review with your team** - Have team members confirm masked values are sufficiently protected

    ### Monitor for edge cases

    * Some PII formats may not be detected (e.g., international phone numbers)
    * Custom data formats may require additional protection
    * Context-specific sensitive information may not be automatically masked
    * AI detection can occasionally miss PII that matches standard patterns
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Beta limitations

As an Enterprise limited beta feature, Visual Data Masking has current limitations that users should understand:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="AI detection can occasionally miss PII">
    The AI model used for PII detection can occasionally miss sensitive information. Detection accuracy varies based on data format, context, and PII type. This is a known limitation of the beta. Do not rely on Visual Data Masking as your sole privacy control for highly sensitive data.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="No configuration options">
    Visual Data Masking is a simple toggle with no advanced configuration. You cannot choose which PII types to mask, customize the masking format, adjust detection sensitivity, or add custom PII patterns. All four supported PII types are automatically masked when enabled.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Fixed masking format">
    The masking format (e.g., `***@***.com`) is fixed and cannot be customized. Future versions may offer configurable masking patterns, but currently all PII is masked using the same placeholder style.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Limited PII type support">
    Only four standard PII types are supported: email addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, and person names. Custom sensitive data types specific to your organization cannot be configured for masking.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Visual only - no data modification">
    Visual Data Masking only affects the UI display. Backend data storage, agent processing, API responses, and data exports all contain unmasked data. This is by design to ensure agents can function properly, but means the feature provides no backend data protection.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Performance impact on long conversations">
    On very long conversations with extensive PII, there may be a slight delay in rendering masked content. This is typically imperceptible but may be noticeable in extreme cases with thousands of messages.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Info>
  We're actively improving Visual Data Masking based on user feedback. If you encounter issues or have feature requests, contact your sales representative or [reach out to support](/get-started/support).
</Info>

## Related features

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Security overview" icon="shield-halved" href="/admin/security">
    Learn about Relevance AI's comprehensive security features and compliance
  </Card>

  <Card title="PII Redaction" icon="database" href="/enterprise/streaming-events#pii-redaction-enterprise-feature">
    Protect sensitive data in exported OTEL logs and audit trails (Enterprise)
  </Card>

  <Card title="User Level Authentication" icon="user-lock" href="/enterprise/user-level-authentication">
    Enable users to authenticate with their own credentials for integrations
  </Card>

  <Card title="Workforce Task View" icon="list-check" href="/build/workforces/workforce-features/workforce-task-view">
    Monitor and manage workforce tasks with Visual Data Masking enabled
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Frequently asked questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Does Visual Data Masking affect agent performance?">
    No. Visual Data Masking only affects what you see in the UI. Agents continue to process unmasked data with no performance impact. The masking happens during UI rendering, not during agent execution.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How reliable is the AI detection?">
    The AI model can occasionally miss PII, especially with non-standard formats, international data, or context-specific sensitive information. Detection accuracy is optimized for standard US formats. Do not rely on Visual Data Masking as your sole privacy control for highly sensitive data. Always test with your specific data formats to understand detection accuracy.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I customize which PII types are masked?">
    No. Visual Data Masking is a simple toggle feature with no configuration options. All four supported PII types (email, phone, credit card, person names) are automatically masked when enabled. You cannot select specific types or add custom patterns.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I customize the masking format?">
    No. The masking format is fixed (e.g., `***@***.com` for emails). You cannot customize the placeholder text or masking pattern. This may be available in future releases.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will masked data appear in API responses?">
    No. Visual Data Masking only applies to the UI. Data returned via API calls is unmasked. If you need to protect data in API responses, implement masking in your application layer.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I temporarily disable masking to see actual values?">
    Yes. You can toggle Visual Data Masking off in agent or workforce settings at any time. Changes take effect immediately for new page loads.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Visual Data Masking work with embedded chat?">
    Visual Data Masking applies to the Relevance AI platform UI only. If you've embedded agents on external websites, Visual Data Masking does not apply to those embedded interfaces.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How is this different from PII Redaction?">
    Visual Data Masking protects what you see in the UI (front-end only). PII Redaction protects what gets exported to your S3 bucket for audit logs and observability (backend data scrubbing). Both are Enterprise features: Visual Data Masking is a simple toggle currently in limited beta; PII Redaction has advanced configuration options. Use both together for comprehensive protection.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens to data that's already in conversation history?">
    When you enable Visual Data Masking, it applies to all conversation histories immediately, including past conversations. The masking is applied during rendering, so historical data is protected retroactively in the UI. However, the backend data remains unchanged.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I export unmasked data for analysis?">
    Yes. Visual Data Masking only affects the UI display. Data exports, API responses, and backend storage all contain unmasked data. If you need masked exports, you'll need to implement masking in your export pipeline or use PII Redaction (Enterprise) for S3 event streaming.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does this protect data sent to LLMs?">
    No. Visual Data Masking is UI-only. Agents send unmasked data to LLMs for processing. This is necessary for agents to function correctly. If you need to protect data sent to LLMs, you must implement pre-processing to scrub data before it reaches the agent.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>