Subject Access Request Emails

[mrstrong]

On 15/05/2026 at 15:47, browolf said:

I vibe coded a tool to redact PDFs

interesting, tempted to have a "play". How did you "vibe code" it, e.g. just type prompt into copilot ? Did you have to test / tweak code in an editor ?

[dmj]

16 hours ago, mrstrong said:

interesting, tempted to have a "play". How did you "vibe code" it, e.g. just type prompt into copilot ? Did you have to test / tweak code in an editor ?

IMO the best way (May 2026, this stuff changes rapidly) is with an AI coding agent such as claude code or opencode or perhaps using an IDE with an agent built in such as zed.

This is better than prompts into copilot etc as because the agents can spawn subagents to go off and search the web, read your existing codebase, use MCP servers or builtin skills. It's also cost effective because you can use top tier agents such as Opus 4.6 to do the planning and have the cheaper ones execute tasks. 

Edited May 19 by dmj

[browolf]

16 hours ago, mrstrong said:

interesting, tempted to have a "play". How did you "vibe code" it, e.g. just type prompt into copilot ? Did you have to test / tweak code in an editor ?

 

I don't think you need agents for something like this. That's overcomplicating it.  You need to run the script locally to see what happens.  If there's an error paste it in the chat and it tells you what to fix. Often it's easier to just ask to get the full updated script again. 

First I made a proof of concept in chatgpt - that it was possible to redact pdfs using python - with this prompt 

write a python script to redact text in pdf files. Redacted text will be replaced with the text <redacted> the script will ask for an input then redact that input in all the pdf files in the same folder. The script will show the names of the files in which the text was redacted and how many times. The script will keep asking for inputs or (q)uit

You can see that process here; https://chatgpt.com/share/6a0c137f-2ebc-8386-aece-e27035353d6e

Then I switched to copilot because I thought I would need to paste screenshots and you don't need to redact data with copilot because it's held within the 365 tenant enclosure.  In copilot I started with the python file  and the prompt "read this file comment ok after" 

then the real prompt 

New script with the same principle and style as this script
script that redacts all the pdf, xlsx or docx files in a folder from a text file of redaction words or phrases
this ui only has 2 columns

first column asks for the text file the 2nd file is the output

1. list of files then what redactions are made to each file backups occur as before when the text file is loaded it needs to be sorted in the order, phrases then words, phrases may include numbers split so really the sort is items per line

ask me any questions before giving me the code

 

answered questions got code tested code, go  through a bunch of errors and iterations however by the end I decided to drop docx and xls and focus on pdf 

started a new chat with the file and the prompt "redacted words are added to a txt file called redacts.txtwhen the program loads it looks for redacts.txt and asks to redact files using this file straight off. This process needs to run in a thread so that output can still be generated"

go through another load of iterations until it operates how you like it. 

[psydii]

Or.. y'know, the automated redaction tools built into Acrobat for decades. 

 

I missed the "its faster than acrobat's tools" bit

Edited May 19 by psydii
I'm a numpty.

[mrstrong]

On 19/05/2026 at 09:12, browolf said:

I switched to copilot

 

is that just using copilot in the Edge browser for your prompts, i.e. https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat  ? Then you paste the code into your editor (local VS code?) to test ?

 

I tend to use gemini, I tried https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat but confused me a bit, e.g. on the LHS mine has Agents like "Microsoft 365 Admin" 
I tried this for an MS 365 question I had, but it seemed to do worse than using just the standard "chat" so went back to gemini. I think claude costs and can't see school 
funding that.

[browolf]

1 minute ago, mrstrong said:

 

is that just using copilot in the Edge browser for your prompts, i.e. https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat  ? Then you paste the code into your editor (local VS code?) to test ?

 

I tend to use gemini, I tried https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat but confused me a bit, e.g. on the LHS mine has Agents like "Microsoft 365 Admin" 
I tried this for an MS 365 question I had, but it seemed to do worse than using just the standard "chat" so went back to gemini. I think claude costs and can't see school 
funding that.

I us The M365 copilot app in win11 signed in with my 365 account then paste the code into vs code to test. 

I also have a chatgpt account the school paid for because previously copilot was really rubbish at coding and persistence but it's got massively  better in the last 6 months so probably dont need this one as much. 

[mrstrong]

Thanks I might go back and re-try copilot then, esp. as like you say its "held within the 365 tenant enclosure". I have A3

license so hopefully that is enough to get started.

[MYK-IT]

As with all things AI, it goes with saying that you need to ensure you only use an AI product that has been reviewed (e.g. DPIA / DP) and approved for your school (School AI AUP) etc. If you're a Microsoft School, your DPIA should already be in place to use Microsoft A1/3 etc and therefore should be OK (but do check with your DPL/DPO) to use Microsoft Copilot Chat (signed in using school email to ensure Enterprise Data Protection is enabled).

Edited May 20 by MYK-IT

[AndrewJWalls]

On 18/05/2026 at 15:51, mrstrong said:

interesting, tempted to have a "play". How did you "vibe code" it, e.g. just type prompt into copilot ? Did you have to test / tweak code in an editor ?

If you need a hand with redaction, we offer a free version of our redaction platform.

 

It's growing in popularity with MATs and schools (https://acuityautoredact.com/). Our Privacy and Data Processing Policies are really clear so you can be assured that you're GDPR compliant in using us. If you need a sample DPIA we can send one over too for you to review.
 

If you have any questions, or would like to chat about it, you can book in by clicking here and we'd be glad to show you.

Edited June 2 by AndrewJWalls