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RTV Viewer Redactions (True Redaction vs. View-time)

Redaction, the process of obscuring or removing sensitive information from documents, is a critical feature offered within the MARS RTV Advanced Viewer. Recognizing different security, compliance, and workflow requirements, it typically provides two primary methods for redaction.

Redaction Methodologies Explained:

  1. True Redaction (Permanent Removal):

    • This approach involves permanently altering the document content itself. When a redaction is applied using this method, the selected information (whether text or an image region) is irreversibly removed or replaced, usually with an opaque block (typically black).
    • The resulting output is a new version of the document, or a rendition where the original data physically no longer exists in the redacted zones. Retrieval of the original information from this output is impossible.
    • This method is necessary for meeting strict data privacy requirements (like GDPR Right to Erasure), creating sanitized versions for external sharing, or removing classified information before broader dissemination.

  2. Redaction at View (Conditional Masking / Privileged Access):

    • This method applies redactions dynamically as a visual overlay only when a user displays the document within the viewer. Importantly, the underlying original data remains present and unchanged in the stored document file.
    • Access control mechanisms, typically based on user roles or permissions, determine whether a user sees the redaction mask or the original data beneath it. For instance, authorized personnel like administrators or compliance officers might have privileges to bypass the redaction overlay ("peek" functionality), while standard users cannot.
    • This provides flexibility for internal processes where different user groups require varying levels of access to sensitive information contained within the same document set, without creating multiple physical copies.

Supporting Redaction Features:

To enhance usability and compliance, the RTV Advanced Viewer may also incorporate features like pattern-based suggestions for redacting common PII (Auto Redaction), applying redactions across numerous locations or documents (Bulk Redaction), managing redactions consistently across document versions, and associating audit trails or reason codes with redactions for governance purposes.