The Invisibility CloakAnonymize text before it moves on

The situation

You want to discuss a real case in a training session, with an external party or in a web search. Names, amounts and numbers must not go along.

The cut

After

Goal: Rewrite the text below so that nobody can recognize people, companies or places in it. The content should stay understandable.

Source: Only the text below. Do not add anything.

Expectations: Replace
- names of people with [PERSON_1], [PERSON_2] and so on
- companies and organizations with [COMPANY_1] and so on
- addresses and places with [PLACE_1], phone numbers and email addresses with [CONTACT_1], customer, contract and invoice numbers with [NUMBER_1]
- amounts with [AMOUNT_1], unless I write below that they may stay
The same people and companies always get the same placeholder.
Output:
1. The anonymized text.
2. Separately below it, a table “Mapping” with placeholder and original. I keep this table to myself.
3. A list “Check” with passages that could still make a person recognizable, for example an unusual job title, a date or a special event.

Amounts stay: [Amounts stay, e.g. yes or no]

Text:
[Case text, e.g. the text with the real case]

No add-on license in Microsoft Copilot Chat. Without a copy button: select the text and copy it with Ctrl+C.

How to use it

1. Paste the text, decide whether amounts stay, and send.
2. Work through the “Check” list and rewrite those passages yourself.
3. Only pass on the anonymized part, never the mapping.
4. When an answer comes back, you put the originals back in yourself.

How to spot a good answer

• A readable text with consistent placeholders.
• A mapping table, separate from the text.
• A list of remaining risks under “Check”.

The check

Give the anonymized text to a colleague who does not know the case. Count how many people or companies she still guesses. The goal is zero.

Limits

• There is no certainty that nothing recognizable remains. The “Check” list is a hint, you read it yourself.
• The mapping is in the same chat. According to Microsoft, prompts and responses under Enterprise Data Protection are logged and retained and are available for audit and eDiscovery. So do not share the chat.
• Only paste the original text if your internal rules allow it. Microsoft states Enterprise Data Protection for prompts and responses when you sign in with a work or school account.
• Anonymizing does not replace checking with the person responsible for data protection in your organization.

Sources

Microsoft Learn: Enterprise data protection in Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Copilot Chat, Microsoft Learn: Frequently asked questions about Microsoft Copilot Chat. As of October 15, 2026.

Mark as practiced

Prefer to practice with guidance? Live course “Copilot Ninja in 4 Wochen” (in German) at the Power Platform Academy

Pass it on

Technique 22 from the PowerPlatformAcademy Dojo: The Invisibility Cloak. Names, companies, amounts and numbers become placeholders, and you keep the mapping to yourself. Free to copy, with a source on Microsoft Learn.

https://copilot.ninja/en/techniken/text-anonymisieren/

Combo: Data stays inside