By George Curta · Last updated 2026-05-19
anonym.legal vs Amazon Comprehend
Amazon Comprehend provides PII detection as part of AWS NLP services. anonym.legal offers more entity types, reversible encryption, and EU data residency without AWS lock-in.
Learn more about Amazon Comprehend
Feature Comparison
| Feature | anonym.legal | Amazon Comprehend |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Transparent (Free to €29/mo) | Pay-per-request (AWS pricing) |
| Free Tier | Yes | AWS Free Tier (12 months only) |
| Entity Types | 285+ | ~30 |
| PII Language Support | 48 languages | 2 (English, Spanish only) |
| Reversible Encryption | AES-256-GCM | No |
| Desktop App (Local Processing) | Yes | No |
| Chrome Extension | Yes | No |
| Office Add-in | Yes | No |
| EU Data Residency | Germany (Hetzner) | US default (EU regions available) |
| Vendor Lock-in | Yes | AWS ecosystem |
| Purpose-Built PII UI | Yes | No |
| Zero-Knowledge Auth | Yes | Not found |
Comparison based on publicly available information. "Not found" indicates feature not documented on product page. Last updated February 2026.
Why Choose anonym.legal
No AWS Lock-in
Use anonym.legal independently. No AWS account, IAM roles, or cloud infrastructure required.
Reversible Encryption
Decrypt anonymized data when legally required. Comprehend only offers permanent redaction.
Desktop App
Process files locally. Documents stay on your device — only extracted text sent for analysis.
285+ Entity Types
Far more coverage than Comprehend's ~30 types. Country-specific IDs with proper validation.
EU Data Residency
German servers by default. No configuration needed. No US jurisdiction concerns.
Chrome Extension + MCP
Protect AI chats and integrate with developer tools. Not available from AWS.
Zero-Knowledge Security
Your password never leaves your device. Even if our servers were breached, your credentials remain safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main differences between anonym.legal and Amazon Comprehend?
anonym.legal offers 285+ entity types vs Comprehend's ~30, supports 48 languages for PII vs Comprehend's 2 (English/Spanish only), provides reversible AES-256-GCM encryption, and includes a Desktop App, Chrome Extension, and Office Add-in. anonym.legal also runs on EU servers by default with no AWS lock-in.
Does anonym.legal require an AWS account?
No. anonym.legal is completely independent of AWS. You can sign up and start using it immediately without any cloud infrastructure setup, IAM roles, or AWS billing. It works as a standalone service with transparent pricing starting at €3/month.
How many languages does Amazon Comprehend support for PII detection?
Amazon Comprehend PII detection only supports 2 languages: English and Spanish. anonym.legal supports 48 languages including German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, and many more.
What is reversible encryption and why doesn't Amazon Comprehend have it?
Reversible encryption allows you to decrypt anonymized data when legally required (e.g., court orders, audits). anonym.legal uses AES-256-GCM encryption that can be decrypted with the original key. Amazon Comprehend only offers permanent redaction — once data is removed, it cannot be recovered.
Where is my data processed with anonym.legal vs Amazon Comprehend?
anonym.legal processes all data on ISO 27001-certified servers in Germany (Hetzner) by default — no US jurisdiction concerns. Amazon Comprehend defaults to US regions, though EU regions are available with additional configuration.
Does anonym.legal offer zero-knowledge authentication?
Yes. anonym.legal uses zero-knowledge authentication with Argon2id and HKDF. Your password is processed on your device — only a mathematical proof is sent to the server, never the actual password.
Try anonym.legal Free
No AWS account needed. No cloud setup. Start with 200 free tokens today.
About this page
We update this page when our platform or the law changes.
Read our founder note for how we work.
Each change shows up in the timestamp at the top.
Related reading
- Common questions
- Glossary
- How tokens work
- Security posture
- Where we comply
- What we detect
- Case studies
- Release notes
We follow these rules
- GDPR (EU 2016/679).
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022.
- NIS2 (EU 2022/2555).
- HIPAA safe harbor under 45 CFR § 164.514(b)(2).
Our promise
We do not sell your data.
We do not train models on your text.
We store your files in Germany.
You can delete your account at any time.
You own your work.
Where we run
Our servers live in Falkenstein, Germany.
We use Hetzner. They hold ISO 27001 certification.
All data stays in the EU.
Backups run every day.
Need help?
Email support@anonym.legal.
We reply within one business day.
How we test
We run a full check suite on every release.
Each surface gets its own sweep script and report.
Human reviewers spot-check the output each week.
We track recall and precision on a labelled set.
Bad runs block the deploy.
What we never do
- We never sell your information to third parties.
- We never train models on what you upload.
- We never keep your work after you delete it.
- We never share keys with any outside firm.
- We never run ads inside the product.
Plans in plain words
We sell credits, not seats.
One credit covers one short job.
Long jobs use a few credits each.
You can top up at any time.
Unused credits roll over each month.
Read the plans page for current rates.
Who built this
A small team of engineers and lawyers built this.
We ship from Europe and work in the open.
Our founder note spells out why we started.
Where to start
- Open the web app and try a sample file.
- Learn how credits get counted.
- See current plans and limits.
- Meet the team behind the product.
How the parts fit
A browser add-on cleans text inside Chrome.
A Word plug-in handles drafts in Office.
A small desktop tool works on whole folders.
An agent protocol link feeds large models safely.
All four share one core engine and one rule set.
Words from our team
We started this work after a lunch about cookies.
One friend kept getting odd ads on her phone.
We asked why a court file leaked through a draft.
We sketched the first build on a napkin that week.
By month three we had a tiny demo for a friend.
She used it on her first case the next day.
Common questions we hear
Can the tool read scanned PDFs? Yes, with OCR.
Does it work on long files? Yes, in small chunks.
Can I roll my own rule set? Yes, save it as a preset.
Does it run offline? The desktop build runs offline.
Do you keep my files? No, the cloud build wipes after each run.
Will it learn from my work? No, we never train on inputs.
A short tour of the workflow
Upload a file or paste a snippet of prose.
Pick the entities you want gone from the draft.
Choose a method: replace, mask, hash, encrypt, or redact.
Press run and watch the side panel show each hit.
Skim the result and tweak any rule that misfired.
Save the cleaned file or send it to a teammate.