Doing the same thing to a hundred files is a controls question, not a typing question. UK GDPR Art. 24 requires a controller to put measures in place that show its processing complies, and Art. 5(2) makes it able to prove that. Art. 32(1) requires security appropriate to the risk, which for a folder of statements means one rule applied evenly rather than twenty separate judgement calls. FCA SYSC 9.1.1R expects the resulting records to be orderly. anonym.plus processes up to 20 files per run on your machine, with a shared map so one holder maps to one alias everywhere.
When this applies
A reporting job needs a folder of statements cleaned the same way. File-by-file work drifts, and drift is what an accountability review under Art. 5(2) finds. A batch run applies one rule evenly across the set.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Point anonym.plus at the statement folder on your machine.
- It scans each file for the customer-data set.
- Local OCR reads any scanned pages in the mix.
- A shared map keeps repeat holders steady across files.
- Review the summary and fix low-confidence flags.
- Save the clean set locally.
What you need to provide
- A folder of records (PDF, CSV, mixed).
- The shared label map turned on for steady results.
- An operator (Mask works well for accounts).
PII & financial identifiers detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | holder across files → [HOLDER_1] |
| Financial | UK_BANK_NUMBER | accounts → ****5678 |
| Identifiers | UK_NINO | NINOs → [NINO] |
| Money | MONEY | balances → [AMOUNT] |
| Contact | EMAIL_ADDRESS | emails → [EMAIL] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | statement dates → [DATE] |
Compliance achieved
- Applies one documented measure across the set, as UK GDPR Art. 24 and the accountability duty in Art. 5(2) expect.
- Meets the risk-appropriate security duty in UK GDPR Art. 32(1) without a cloud step.
- Keeps the output orderly for FCA SYSC 9.1.1R.
- Respects the duty of confidence in Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England [1924] 1 KB 461 on every file, not only the reviewed ones.
- The shared map keeps a repeat holder steady; 340+ PII types are covered.
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Limitations & cautions
A mixed folder leans on OCR for the scanned pages, so review low-confidence flags. The shared map is itself a key: kept, it can re-link the whole set, which under UK GDPR Art. 4(5) makes the output pseudonymised rather than anonymous. Turn it off when you need true anonymity.
Frequently asked questions
How does batch mode keep one holder steady?
A shared map logs each person once, so the same holder maps to the same alias in every file across the folder. That is what makes a set comparable after the pass.
How many statements can one run handle?
Up to 20 files per batch, all processed locally, with OCR for any scanned pages in the mix.
Why does consistency matter legally?
Because UK GDPR Art. 5(2) makes the controller demonstrate compliance, not merely achieve it. A folder where nineteen files were cleaned one way and one another is hard to evidence, and Art. 32(1) asks whether the measure was appropriate to the risk across the whole set.