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MaskDoc
Our Mission & Architecture

About MaskDoc

Empowering Indian citizens and businesses with zero-server, privacy-first tools to mask sensitive identifiers and apply legal purpose watermarks to identity documents.

The Challenge: Routine Identity Document Overexposure

In modern India, identity documents such as Aadhaar, PAN cards, and Voter IDs are routinely requested for everyday activities—renting an apartment, checking into a hotel, onboarding at a workplace, or buying a SIM card.

Unfortunately, photocopies and digital photos of these documents are frequently stored on unsecured computers, mobile phones, and physical filing cabinets. Once shared without redaction or purpose restriction, these documents can be misused for identity theft, unauthorized SIM activation, or fraudulent loan applications.

Our Core Guarantee: 100% Client-Side Processing

Unlike traditional online PDF and image converters that upload your personal files to cloud servers for processing, MaskDoc is architected from the ground up to never send your documents across the network.

In-Browser OCR

Text detection is performed locally using WebAssembly and Web Workers running directly inside your browser memory.

Canvas Redaction

Blackout bars and pattern masks are drawn directly onto an HTML5 Canvas element without intermediate server transmission.

Air-Gapped Operation

You can disconnect your Wi-Fi or enable Airplane Mode after loading the page, and MaskDoc continues to work seamlessly.

Aligned With Indian Regulatory Standards

MaskDoc is engineered to help citizens and compliance officers adhere strictly to statutory privacy guidelines:

  • UIDAI Masked Aadhaar Directives: The Unique Identification Authority of India actively promotes Masked Aadhaar under UIDAI Circular No. 10 of 2018 and Section 8A of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 (as amended), where only the last 4 digits are visible, protecting the first 8 digits from exposure while retaining offline verification validity.
  • RBI Master Directions on KYC: Section 16 of the Reserve Bank of India KYC framework directs regulated entities to ensure the first 8 digits of Aadhaar are redacted when accepting offline physical copies.
  • Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act): Implements the foundational principles of Data Minimization and Purpose Limitation by permanently embedding use-specific watermarks (e.g., "FOR HOTEL CHECK-IN ONLY - VALID UNTIL [DATE]").

Independent Engineering & Privacy Stewardship

MaskDoc is an independent, client-side digital privacy initiative developed in the Republic of India to advance personal data defense and statutory data minimization. We are not a government agency, nor are we associated with UIDAI, the Income Tax Department, or the Election Commission of India. Our sole purpose is to provide accessible, transparent, open-architecture client-side software that empowers citizens to protect their identity documents before sharing them.

Our software engineering principles prioritize zero server dependencies, transparent local execution, and strict adherence to India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act, 2023). All processing algorithms run exclusively on your local device, ensuring that user privacy is guaranteed structurally by client-side isolation rather than policy promises.

How to Independently Verify Our Privacy Guarantee

You don't have to take our word for it. Open your browser's Developer Tools (F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I), switch to the Network tab, and select a document to mask. You will observe that zero bytes of image or document data are transmitted to any server.