The short version
Student papers never leave the computer. The AI that finds names and personal details runs inside the browser tab, on the teacher's own machine. There is no server to send papers to — this site is a folder of files, not a service. No accounts, no cookies, no analytics, no tracking of any kind.
What gets sent over the internet
One thing, once, and it contains nothing about you or your students:
- The app and its built-in AI (about 100 MB), the first time you open the page — the same as loading any website, all of it from this site's own address. No third party is contacted, not even a model library. The front page shows a green “road-ready” line when everything is saved on the device.
After that one-time download, the tool runs with the Wi-Fi off. Papers, names, findings, and anything you type are processed and kept in memory on the device — full stop.
What's stored on the device
- The app files and AI model, in the browser's offline cache (so it works without internet).
- Your “safe file names” tick-box setting, in the browser's local storage.
- Not stored: papers. When you close or reload the tab, they're gone.
Scrubbed copies exist only where you save them — including the
WHO-IS-WHOkey, which lists your students' real names and belongs in your Downloads folder, never in an AI.
Clearing the site's data in the browser removes all of the above.
Check it yourself — no trust required
- Open the tool and scrub the built-in example once (this fetches the one-time downloads).
- Turn off Wi-Fi, or put the device in airplane mode.
- Scrub a real paper. It works — because nothing needed the internet.
For the technically inclined: the source code is public, and the browser's network inspector will show you every request the page makes.
FERPA-minded by design
Paper Scrubber is built so student work is never transmitted, collected, or stored by anyone — there is nothing to intercept, subpoena, or breach. It exists precisely so that what does get pasted into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini has the personally identifiable information already removed, with a teacher checking the result. (This page describes how the tool is built; your district's own policies still apply, and the teacher is always the last set of eyes.)
Who made this
The Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative. Questions, concerns, or a district review? Email alex@theholler.org — happy to walk your tech director through any of it.