🛡️ Privacy Shield - Document Redaction Platform

Privacy Shield is a web-based platform designed to help users protect sensitive information by redacting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from their documents. It leverages Google's Gemini for intelligent, AI-powered redaction and provides a fallback to traditional regex-based methods for maximum flexibility.

✨ Features

• AI-Powered Redaction: Utilizes Google Gemini to intelligently find and remove PII from various document types.
• Multiple Redaction Methods: Choose between Masking (replacing PII with ████████) or Replacing (swapping PII with realistic fake data).
• Broad File Support: Process a wide range of document formats, including TXT, CSV, PDF, DOCX, and RTF.
• Image Redaction: Advanced capabilities to redact text and faces from images.
• Customizable Rules: Fine-tune redaction by specifying custom values to redact or ignore.
• Secure User Authentication: Full authentication system powered by Firebase Auth (Email/Password and Google OAuth).
• File Management Dashboard: A user-friendly dashboard to upload files, view processing history, and download redacted documents.
• Secure Cloud Storage: All original and redacted files are securely stored using Firebase Storage, with access controlled by strict rules.

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Framework: Next.js (with App Router)
• Backend & Database: Firebase (Auth, Firestore, Storage, Functions)
• Language: TypeScript
• Styling: Tailwind CSS with shadcn/ui
• AI: Google Gemini
• State Management: React Query (@tanstack/react-query)
• File Processing: pdfjs-dist, mammoth.js, jszip, papaparse
• Icons: Lucide React

🚀 Getting Started

Follow these instructions to get a copy of the project up and running on your local machine for development and testing purposes.

1. Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following software installed on your machine:

• Node.js (v22.x or later recommended)
• pnpm (or npm/yarn)
• Firebase CLI: npm install -g firebase-tools

2. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/privacy-shield.git
cd privacy-shield

3. Install Dependencies

pnpm install

4. Environment Setup

The project can be run in two modes: using the Firebase Emulator Suite (recommended for local development) or connecting to a live Firebase project.

First, create an environment file by copying the example:

cp .env.example .env.local

Now, follow the instructions for your chosen mode.

---

💻 Running with Firebase Emulator Suite

This is the easiest way to run the project locally without needing a live Firebase project. The emulators simulate the entire Firebase backend on your machine.

Step 1: Configure Environment for Emulator

In your .env.local file, make sure the emulator flag is set to true:

# .env.local
NEXT_PUBLIC_USE_EMULATOR=true

# You can leave the other Firebase variables empty or as they are

# The Gemini API Key is still needed for AI features
GEMINI_API_KEY="your_google_gemini_api_key"

Note: You still need a GEMINI_API_KEY from Google AI Studio for the AI redaction features to work.

Step 2: Login to Firebase

If you haven't already, log in to your Google account via the Firebase CLI:

firebase login

Step 3: Start the Emulators

In your terminal, start the Firebase Emulator Suite. This will spin up local instances of Auth, Firestore, Storage, and Functions.

firebase emulators:start

Once running, you should see a table of running emulators and their ports. You can access the Emulator UI at http://localhost:4000 to view your local database, users, and stored files.

Step 4: Run the Next.js Application

In a new terminal window, start the Next.js development server:

pnpm dev

Your application will be running at http://localhost:3000 and will automatically connect to the local Firebase emulators.

---

☁️ Running with a Live Firebase Project

Use this mode if you want to test against a real Firebase backend.

Step 1: Create a Firebase Project

1. Go to the Firebase Console and create a new project.
2. Enable Firestore: Go to the Firestore Database section and create a database in production mode.
3. Enable Storage: Go to the Storage section and set it up.
4. Enable Authentication:
   • Go to the Authentication section.
   • Click on "Get Started".
   • Enable the Email/Password and Google sign-in providers.

Step 2: Register a Web App

1. In your project's settings, click "Add app" and select the "Web" icon (</>).
2. Register the app. You don't need to add the SDKs.
3. Firebase will provide you with a firebaseConfig object. Copy these keys.

Step 3: Get Gemini API Key

1. Go to Google AI Studio.
2. Create a new API key.

Step 4: Configure Environment for Live Project

Now, populate your .env.local file with the keys you just obtained.

# .env.local

# Set to false to connect to your live Firebase project
NEXT_PUBLIC_USE_EMULATOR=false

# Paste your Web App config from the Firebase Console here
NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_API_KEY="your_api_key"
NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN="your_project_id.firebaseapp.com"
NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID="your_project_id"
NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_STORAGE_BUCKET="your_project_id.appspot.com"
NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID="your_sender_id"
NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_APP_ID="your_app_id"

# Paste your Gemini API key here
GEMINI_API_KEY="your_google_gemini_api_key"

# This is used for the Firebase Admin SDK on the server-side
FIREBASE_ADMIN_DATABASE_URL="https://your_project_id.firebaseio.com"

Step 5: Set up Service Account Credentials

The backend needs admin privileges to communicate with Firebase securely.

1. In the Firebase Console, go to Project Settings > Service accounts.

2. Click "Generate new private key" and save the downloaded JSON file.

3. Important: Do not commit this file to Git. The .gitignore file is already configured to ignore it.

4. Set an environment variable that points to the location of this file. On Linux/macOS:

   export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/path/to/your/service-account-file.json"

   On Windows (Command Prompt):

   set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="C:\path\to\your\service-account-file.json"

Step 6: Run the Next.js Application

Start the Next.js development server:

pnpm dev

The application will now be connected to your live Firebase project.

📂 Project Structure

Here's a high-level overview of the key directories in the project:

.
├── functions/        # Firebase Cloud Functions (if any are added)
├── public/           # Static assets (images, svgs, etc.)
├── src/
│   ├── app/          # Next.js App Router: pages and API routes
│   │   ├── api/      # Backend API routes
│   │   ├── dashboard/ # Main application dashboard
│   │   └── (auth)/   # Route group for signin/signup pages
│   ├── components/   # React components
│   │   ├── composites/ # Application-specific components
│   │   └── ui/       # Reusable UI components from shadcn/ui
│   ├── contexts/     # React Context providers (Auth, etc.)
│   ├── lib/          # Core logic and utilities
│   │   ├── serverUtils/ # Server-side only utilities (e.g., AI redaction)
│   │   └── utils/    # Shared utilities (Firebase client, file handling)
│   ├── services/     # Functions for interacting with external services
│   └── types/        # TypeScript type definitions
├── .firebaserc       # Firebase project configuration
├── firebase.json     # Firebase services and emulator configuration
├── firestore.rules   # Firestore security rules
└── storage.rules     # Cloud Storage security rules

📜 Available Scripts

In the project directory, you can run:

• pnpm dev: Runs the app in development mode with Turbopack.
• pnpm build: Builds the app for production.
• pnpm start: Starts a production server.
• pnpm lint: Lints the codebase for errors and style issues.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are what make the open-source community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated.

1. Fork the Project
2. Create your Feature Branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your Changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the Branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request