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Technical Guide5 min•Intermediate

How to Redact Emails in Node.js Before Sending to OpenAI API

GDPR-compliant email redaction for Node.js developers using OpenAI. Learn the exact regex pattern and zero-latency proxy solution for PII protection.

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The Problem

Sending user emails directly to OpenAI violates GDPR Article 5 (data minimization). OpenAI logs may retain this PII for 30 days, creating compliance risk for EU businesses.

The Hard Way (Manual Regex)

You could manually implement regex detection in your application:

const emailRegex = /[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}/g;

Regex Explanation: This regex matches standard email formats (RFC 5322 compliant). It captures local parts (before @) with alphanumeric characters, dots, underscores, and plus signs, followed by domain names with TLDs.

The Secure Way (SafePipe Proxy)

Instead of maintaining regex patterns and handling edge cases, use SafePipe's Zero-Knowledge proxy. We handle PII detection in <30ms RAM processing, hosted in Frankfurt (EU).

import OpenAI from "openai";

// ❌ THE DANGEROUS WAY: Direct OpenAI call
const unsafeClient = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
});

const response = await unsafeClient.chat.completions.create({
  model: "gpt-4o",
  messages: [{
    role: "user",
    content: "Send invoice to john.doe@company.com" // 🚨 PII LEAK
  }]
});

// ✅ THE COMPLIANT WAY: SafePipe Auto-Redaction
const safeClient = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.SAFEPIPE_API_KEY, // sp_live_xxxxx
  baseURL: "https://safepipe.eu/api/v1",
  defaultHeaders: {
    "x-provider-key": process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY // BYOK
  }
});

const safeResponse = await safeClient.chat.completions.create({
  model: "gpt-4o",
  messages: [{
    role: "user",
    content: "Send invoice to john.doe@company.com"
  }]
});
// OpenAI receives: "Send invoice to [EMAIL_REDACTED]"
// Processing time: < 30ms added latency

Why This Matters for Compliance

Email addresses are Personally Identifiable Information (PII) under GDPR. When sent to US-based OpenAI servers, they trigger Schrems II compliance obligations. SafePipe's Frankfurt-based proxy strips emails in RAM before forwarding requests, ensuring OpenAI never logs your customer data.

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