How Restonim works
Restonim is a desktop application for pseudonymising documents and restoring the original values under your control.
Local-first architecture
Your data stays on your computer
Restonim runs locally on your computer. Document processing, the detection of information that requires protection, pseudonymisation and data restoration take place without an Internet connection.
The application does not send documents or the information they contain to external servers, and it does not use cloud services to process them.
An Internet connection will be used only for licence activation and renewal.
Restonim provides an information-processing environment in which you keep control over your documents.
- Document
- Local processing
- Pseudonymisation
- Controlled export / restoration
Local processing
No Internet connection required
No cloud processing
Under your control
Restonim does not send documents to the cloud. If you use folders that are synchronised by the operating system or by external services, synchronisation depends on their settings, not on Restonim.
How it works
This is how working with a document will look in the launch version of Restonim.
Your computer — Restonim
Original document
You start with your own document containing confidential information.
Jan Nowak
OCR where required
For scanned PDF documents, Restonim will first recognise the text.
Detection and pseudonymisation
Confidential information is identified and replaced with tokens.
Jan Nowak → [[PERSON_000001]]
Review and pre-export check
You review the detected information, and Restonim checks whether any information marked for protection remains in the document.
Your decision: Transfer of the pseudonymised document
External AI tool
Analysis in an AI tool
If you decide to, you pass the pseudonymised document to an AI tool of your choice.
Your decision
Return of the document
You load the analysed document back into Restonim.
Your computer — Restonim
Controlled restoration
The original values return in place of the tokens that remained unchanged.
[[PERSON_000001]] → Jan Nowak
- Restonim does not send documents to AI tools. You decide whether to pass on a document and which tool to use.
- Tokens altered or removed by an AI tool may not be restored.
- Before export, you review and accept the detected information.
Four stages of document protection
Each stage has a different role.
Detecting information
Restonim identifies information in the document that may need protection. Detection does not ensure that all such information has been found.
Pseudonymisation
The identified information is replaced with tokens, e.g. [[PERSON_000001]]. This step is reversible: the original values can be restored later.
Pre-export check
Before export, Restonim blocks elements that it cannot process safely, such as macros and embedded objects, and checks whether any information marked for protection remains in the document.
Restoration
When the document comes back, the original values are put back in place of the tokens — when you decide.
None of these stages ensures that all confidential information has been removed from a document. Check the document before passing it on.
Working with external AI tools
Restonim helps you limit the confidential information passed to external AI tools and then restore the original values in the analysed document.
Your computer — Restonim
Local document
Your document containing confidential information.
Jan Nowak
Local pseudonymisation
Confidential information is replaced with tokens on your computer.
[[PERSON_000001]]
Export of the pseudonymised document
Restonim prepares the pseudonymised document for you to pass on.
Your decision: handing over the pseudonymised document
External AI tool
Analysis in an AI tool — optional
You decide whether, and to which AI tool, to pass the document. Restonim does not connect to AI providers and sends nothing automatically.
[[PERSON_000001]]
Your decision: returning the result
Your computer — Restonim
Return of the analysed document
You load the result of the analysis back into Restonim.
Restoration of the original values
The original values return in place of tokens that remained valid and are supported.
Jan Nowak
An AI tool may alter or remove tokens. Restonim may not be able to restore such tokens, so check the result before using it further. Restoration covers DOCX, TXT and Markdown documents.
Pseudonymisation and restoration
Pseudonymisation replaces confidential information with pseudonyms (tokens). A pseudonymised document keeps its content structure but contains pseudonyms where the replaced information used to be.
Restoration puts the original values back in place of the pseudonyms. It is not decryption of the document but a controlled reconstruction of the replaced information.
It is always worth checking the result of pseudonymisation before the document is shared.
Features of the launch version
We describe the scope of the launch version of Restonim, which is being prepared for release.
Document pseudonymisation
Confidential information is replaced with tokens, e.g. [[PERSON_000001]].
Controlled restoration
The original values return in place of the tokens when you decide.
OCR for scanned documents
Text recognition in scanned PDF documents, so that information to protect can be identified in them too.
Review before export
You review and accept the detected information before the document leaves Restonim.
Pre-export check
Restonim checks the document before export and blocks it if any information marked for protection remains in it.
Preparation for AI analysis
A pseudonymised document that you can pass on yourself to an AI tool of your choice.
Cryptographic protection
Restonim uses advanced cryptographic mechanisms to protect data and to control its integrity — details on the Security page.
Project event log
A local log records the date and time of, among other things, the detection and review of information, the pre-export check and the export, as well as the SHA-256 hash of the exported file. This makes it possible to check when a document was pseudonymised and exported, and whether a given file is the one that Restonim exported. The log does not confirm which document was actually passed to an external AI tool.
Document formats
DOCX, PDF, TXT and Markdown — details under Document formats.
Document formats
Formats covered by the launch version of Restonim:
- Microsoft Word — DOCX
- Documents in .docx format, with the ability to restore the original values. Other Word formats, such as .doc or .docm, are not covered.
- PDF with a text layer
- PDF files in which the text can be selected and copied. The result is an irreversibly cleaned PDF document — the data cannot be restored in this file.
- Scanned PDF documents
- PDF files that contain only an image of the page require text recognition (OCR).
- TXT
- Plain text files, with the ability to restore the original values.
- Markdown — MD
- Markdown files, with the ability to restore the original values.
Support for a format does not mean compatibility with every document saved in that format or with every variant of it.
Scans and PDF files
A PDF file may contain text or only an image of a scanned page.
PDF with a text layer
The text can be read directly, so Restonim identifies information to protect in the text of the document.
Scanned PDF
The page is an image. OCR will recognise the text on it so that information to protect can be identified.
OCR requirements
On Mac computers, OCR will require an Apple Silicon processor and macOS 26 or later; on other Mac computers, the remaining features will be available. We will confirm the availability of OCR in the Windows version before launch.
Systems and licence
Restonim is being prepared in versions for macOS and Windows. A licence will cover one active device.
macOS and Windows
Versions for macOS and Windows computers. We will publish detailed system requirements before launch.
One licence — one device
A licence will cover one active device. You will be able to move it to another computer, including between macOS and Windows — once the Windows version is released.
Licence activation
An internet connection will be needed to activate and renew the licence. Working with documents will not require one.
Subscription and trial
A monthly, quarterly or annual subscription and a 14-day free trial with no payment card required — details on the pricing page.
What Restonim is not
Not an anonymisation tool
Pseudonymisation is reversible for anyone who holds the information needed for restoration. As a rule, pseudonymised data remain personal data.
Not a substitute for legal assessment
Using Restonim does not in itself determine whether processing complies with the GDPR or with professional obligations.
Detection is not removal
Detecting information does not make it certain that all confidential information has been identified. A pseudonymised document must be checked.
Restoration is not decryption
Restoration puts the original values back in place of the pseudonyms — under your control.
System requirements
We will publish detailed system requirements before launch.