Data privacy is a key concern for every organization that processes third-party personal data, including phone numbers. With the GDPR now in effect, data privacy holds more importance today than ever. Plivo provides SMS redaction features to customers interested in limiting how their outbound and inbound SMS usage data is retained on Plivo’s servers and databases.

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Outbound SMS redaction

When outbound SMS message redaction is enabled:
  • The last three digits of the destination number are redacted (replaced with ***).
  • The actual message content is redacted and replaced with ***Text Content Redacted***.
  • Redaction is applied on
    • Server logs
    • Console debug logs
    • Console debug UI
    • Customer callbacks

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Console logs UI

outbound SMS redaction

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How to enable outbound SMS and MMS redaction

Plivo offers a simple way to redact the content and destination number of an outbound SMS or MMS message. Set the log request parameter of the Send SMS API request to false. The default value is true: outbound messages are not redacted unless the log request parameter is explicitly set to false. We also support partial redaction of your messaging data. To enable partial redaction,
  • set the log request parameter of the Send SMS API request to content_only to log message content and redact the phone numbers; or,
  • set the log request parameter of the Send SMS API request to number_only to log phone number data and redact the message content.
Please note that if the redaction is enabled, Plivo cannot debug or recover the message content if there are any issues.

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Code samples

import plivo

client = plivo.RestClient('<auth_id>', '<auth_token>')

response = client.messages.create(
      src ='14092102231', # Sender's phone number with country code
      dst ='19177220741', # Receiver's phone Number with country code
      text ='hello, test message!',
      log = False)
print(response)
# print str(resp)

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PHLO

outbound redaction

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Inbound SMS redaction

When inbound SMS message redaction is enabled:
  • The last three digits of the originating number are redacted (replaced with ***).
  • The actual message content is redacted and replaced with ***Text Content Redacted***.
  • Redaction is applied on
    • Server logs
    • Console debug logs
    • Console debug UI

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Console logs UI

Inbound redaction

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Inbound MMS redaction

When inbound message redaction is enabled:
  • The source number is redacted in logs and in the Message Detail Record (MDR).
  • Hyperlinks for attached media are logged anywhere on Plivo server logs, including callback logs.
  • Media subresources for the received media are created and will remain accessible. They may be deleted by explicitly invoking the Delete Media API to delete the media files hosted on Plivo servers.

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How to enable inbound SMS and MMS redaction

You can control inbound SMS and MMS redaction at the application level. Setting the application-level flag log_incoming_messages to false enables redaction. The default value is true, so inbound messages are not redacted unless the flag is explicitly set to false. The text and from_number fields are redacted when redaction is enabled. When message redaction is enabled for an application, incoming messages to Plivo phone numbers associated with the application are redacted. Note: If inbound messages are redacted, Plivo cannot debug or recover message content if there are any issues with the callback URL.

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Code samples

import plivo

client = plivo.RestClient('<auth_id>','<auth_token>')
response = client.applications.create(
    app_name='Test Application',
    answer_url='https://answer.url', log_incoming_messages= False)
print(response)

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Console UI

Inbound SMS redaction

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PHLO

Inbound redaction