Glossary · Data room features
Redaction
Also called redact, redacted, redacting, AI redaction
Definition
Redaction removes or blacks out sensitive information in a document, such as customer names, salaries, personal data or prices, before it is shared. In a data room it lets sellers disclose a contract without giving away what a competing bidder should not see. Many providers now use AI to find what needs redacting.
Where redaction comes up
On this site, in our guides and in the conversations we've written up.
Guide What is a virtual data room? Around that core sit the features that make a deal run, granular permissions, watermarking, redaction, a structured question and answer workflow, and reporting on who looked at what. Guide How to choose a virtual data room AI: search, indexing, redaction and summarisation increasingly separate the leaders. Guide Virtual data room security: what to look for Built-in redaction lets you hide sensitive text without leaving copies behind. Guide The due diligence data room checklist AI speeds up indexing, search, redaction and even drafting Q&A responses, compressing the most time-consuming parts of the process. Guide Datasite VDR review: heavyweight AI and security, with a learning curve Rounding out the toolkit is AI-powered redaction, which is genuinely useful on the big, complex transactions Datasite is best known for, where redacting sensitive content by hand would be punishing. Guide iDeals VDR review: easy to use, secure and quick to set up iDeals has recently upped its AI offering, with AI document summaries, AI redaction, AI translation and AI chat. Guide Intralinks VDR review: the security veteran, with a learning curve The platform has an integrated Q&A workflow, so buyers and sellers manage their questions securely in the data room rather than over email chains, and AI-assisted tools help with redaction and parts of the due diligence process. Guide Drooms VDR review: European data sovereignty, with a few caveats It offers two-factor authentication, granular access permissions and document watermarking, plus built-in redaction tools. Guide Ansarada VDR review: the whole deal in one place, if you need it all The AI seems to work fairly well, and the tools for document organisation, search, redaction and bidder analysis could save you time. Use case Best virtual data room for due diligence Built-in redaction and dynamic watermarking
Per-party permissions and staged access
A complete audit trail
Built around accelerating due diligence, with AI-powered search, advanced Q&A and buyer-engagement insights. 
Video · New Ventures BC Startup fundraising: what investors check and what goes in the data room Redact pilot customer names but show what they pay. 
Video · Euronext TV Why restructuring data rooms differ, and why AI should stay inside them Tessier sees bidders running downloaded documents through public LLMs as a confidentiality risk, and says Admincontrol will build search, summaries, indexing and redaction into the data room instead. 
Video · Khaitan & Co Cross-border diligence: why deals fall on clearances, not interest Data protection rules mean employee data often arrives summarised, jumbled or sampled, so the panel adds SFTP transfers, clean rooms, aggregated data and redaction to the data room. 
Video · VirtualData-Room.com Ansarada review: the whole deal, with AI that reads your bidders The AI functionality seem to work fairly well, and tools for document organisation searching, redaction, and bidder analysis could save you time. 
Video · VirtualData-Room.com Datasite review: maximum functionality, at a price AI throughout: assisted setup, semantic search, AI redaction and BlueFlame AI answers
Enterprise security with granular document permissions and full audit trails
Users mention frequent two-factor and log-in prompts
Powerful but overfacing… 
Video · VirtualData-Room.com Drooms review: European data sovereignty, with a few caveats European data centres, two-factor authentication, watermarking, redaction and GDPR
Modern and clean, though less intuitive for first-time and occasional users
AI assistant, summaries, translation, structured Q&A, secure chat and audit… 
Video · VirtualData-Room.com iDeals review: as good as its name? New AI summaries, redaction, translation and chat
Pricing can feel high for smaller organisations
The name iDeals is a very clever pun for a virtual data room, but does a good name mean a good VDR? 
Video · VirtualData-Room.com Intralinks review: experienced leader or due a refresh? Well-reviewed analytics, integrated Q&A, AI redaction and full audit trails
Customer support is praised for its attentiveness
Have you ever wanted to be a magician?
Video · New Ventures BC Startup fundraising: what investors check and what goes in the data room Redact pilot customer names but show what they pay. Video · Euronext TV Why restructuring data rooms differ, and why AI should stay inside them Tessier sees bidders running downloaded documents through public LLMs as a confidentiality risk, and says Admincontrol will build search, summaries, indexing and redaction into the data room instead. Video · Khaitan & Co Cross-border diligence: why deals fall on clearances, not interest Data protection rules mean employee data often arrives summarised, jumbled or sampled, so the panel adds SFTP transfers, clean rooms, aggregated data and redaction to the data room. Video · VirtualData-Room.com Ansarada review: the whole deal, with AI that reads your bidders The AI functionality seem to work fairly well, and tools for document organisation searching, redaction, and bidder analysis could save you time. Video · VirtualData-Room.com Datasite review: maximum functionality, at a price AI throughout: assisted setup, semantic search, AI redaction and BlueFlame AI answers
Enterprise security with granular document permissions and full audit trails
Users mention frequent two-factor and log-in prompts
Powerful but overfacing… Video · VirtualData-Room.com Drooms review: European data sovereignty, with a few caveats European data centres, two-factor authentication, watermarking, redaction and GDPR
Modern and clean, though less intuitive for first-time and occasional users
AI assistant, summaries, translation, structured Q&A, secure chat and audit… Video · VirtualData-Room.com iDeals review: as good as its name? New AI summaries, redaction, translation and chat
Pricing can feel high for smaller organisations
The name iDeals is a very clever pun for a virtual data room, but does a good name mean a good VDR? Video · VirtualData-Room.com Intralinks review: experienced leader or due a refresh? Well-reviewed analytics, integrated Q&A, AI redaction and full audit trails
Customer support is praised for its attentiveness
Have you ever wanted to be a magician? Related terms
Clean team A small, ring-fenced group allowed to see a competitor's sensitive data during a deal, under strict rules. GDPR The EU's data protection law, which governs how personal data, including data in a data room, is handled. Granular permissions Settings that control, per user or group and per folder, who can view, download or print each document. Audit trail The data room's record of who opened, downloaded or printed which document, and when. Board portal Software for running board meetings: agendas, board packs, votes and minutes. Data room index The numbered folder structure of a data room, which acts as its table of contents. Deal room Another name for a virtual data room: a secure online space for sharing deal documents with outside parties. Dynamic watermarking Stamping each viewer's name, email or time on documents as they open them, to discourage leaks.