How-to
How to use AI on client files without sharing identities
Each guide answers the task in its first paragraph, then shows the steps, the limits, and where PiBye fits.
IRCC PDF form stuck on “Please wait…” on a Mac
The “Please wait… If this message is not eventually replaced…” page means your PDF viewer cannot display an Adobe XFA form. IRCC’s barcode forms are built this way, and Preview cannot display them. Download the form again, open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader instead of Preview, fill it in, and click Validate. Submit that validated file, not a copy made in another app.
How to flatten a filled-in PDF form on a Mac
To flatten a PDF form on a Mac for free, open it in Preview, choose File > Print, then Save as PDF: the answers become part of the page and the fields disappear. Exporting does not flatten. For better results, use a PDF editor’s flatten command, such as PDF Expert’s “Save as flatten”, or a local app that flattens several forms at once.
Why your filled-in PDF form looks blank to the person you sent it to
A filled form can look blank to a recipient when their PDF viewer draws the fields differently from yours. Mac users report forms saved from Preview showing empty fields in Adobe Acrobat until each field is clicked. The reliable fix is to send a flattened copy, where your answers are drawn into the page itself rather than stored in fields.
How to remove client names and details before using AI
Replace every name and identifying detail with a consistent placeholder before the document reaches the AI, for example [PERSON_001] for the same client everywhere. Remove more than names: addresses, emails, phone numbers, dates of birth, account, case and government ID numbers. Then read the whole copy yourself before pasting it, because automated detection and find-and-replace both miss things.
How to anonymize a PDF or Word document before using ChatGPT
Work on a copy: replace each name, ID number and address with a consistent token such as [PERSON_001], review the full copy line by line, then give ChatGPT only that reviewed copy. Keep the key to the tokens private so you can restore the real details afterwards. Strictly, that is pseudonymizing, not anonymizing: ChatGPT sees the case, not the client, but the copy is still personal information in your hands.
How to put real names back into a draft the AI wrote with placeholders
Restore on your own computer, not in the chat: replace each placeholder, such as [PERSON_001], with its real value from your private key. Before you do, check the draft for placeholders the AI changed, merged, invented or dropped, because a straight find-and-replace silently misses those. Then read the restored document once more before sending it.
How to use AI on a scanned PDF without exposing personal information
A scanned PDF is a picture of text, so search and find-and-replace cannot see the names in it. Run OCR first to turn the scan into text, find and replace personal details in that text, then review it against the scan, because OCR misreads names and numbers. Share only the reviewed text with the AI, never the original scan.
How to share a document with Claude Desktop without sharing personal information
Give Claude an approved copy with the personal details already replaced, not the original file. You can paste that copy into the chat, or let Claude Desktop read it through a local connection limited to the documents you select. Claude still processes whatever you share on Anthropic’s servers, so the protection comes from removing details before sharing.
How to check a document for personal information before you share it
Check in three passes. First search for obvious patterns: names, emails, phone numbers, dates and ID numbers. Then check the places searches miss: headers, footers, tables, comments, tracked changes, file properties and scanned pages. Finally read the whole document for facts that identify someone indirectly, such as a rare job title or a small town.
How to connect the ChatGPT desktop app to a local MCP server
In the ChatGPT desktop app, open Settings, select MCP servers, then Add server. Give it a name, choose STDIO, enter the command that starts the server, save, and select Restart. The desktop app shares this configuration with Codex in ~/.codex/config.toml. Type /mcp in the composer to confirm it is connected. This is a desktop-app feature: OpenAI's documentation says ChatGPT on the web does not read local configuration files.
How to remove client names from a Word document before using AI
Replace the names in the body, then clear the places Word keeps them out of sight: headers and footers, comments, tracked changes, document properties and the author field. Microsoft's Document Inspector finds and removes most of that hidden data. Find-and-replace misses spelling variants and initials, so read the result, and use consistent stand-ins rather than deletions if you need to put the names back into the AI's draft.
How to write an IRCC letter of explanation with AI without sharing client details
Give the AI the facts of the case with the identifiers replaced: stand-ins for names, the UCI, passport and application numbers, addresses and dates of birth. Ask it to draft the letter, then put the real details back on your own computer and check every statement against the file. Accuracy is the practitioner's responsibility: under Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, misrepresenting or withholding material facts can make an applicant inadmissible for five years.
How to remove SIN, UCI and passport numbers from documents before using AI
Replace every identifying number before the document reaches an AI: Social Insurance Numbers, IRCC UCIs and file numbers, passport and permit numbers, US Social Security numbers, A-numbers and EINs, and financial account numbers. Canada's Privacy Act lists "any identifying number" assigned to a person as personal information. Check scans, form grids and passport machine-readable lines, where numbers break across lines, and read the copy before sharing.
How to redact a bank statement before using AI
Remove what identifies the account holder and keep what the task needs. Replace the name, address, account and card numbers, and the names of people in transfers; keep amounts, dates and transaction categories if the AI is analyzing spending or income. US court rules allow only the last four digits of an account number in filings. Amounts are still sensitive: Canada's privacy commissioner says income records are almost always considered sensitive, so share only the period the task needs.