Helio Guard vs free redaction extensions
Free extensions such as PrivacyScrubber and Redactprompt hide personal data on your own computer before it reaches an AI tool. They are good for one person. A business also needs the same rules on every PC, a record of what was kept out, and its own clients' names covered.
Most comparisons are written by one of the two companies, and that company wins. This one is too. So every claim about the other product links to its own pages, with the date we checked, and we list where Helio Guard falls short. Checked 6 October 2026.
Side by side
| What | Helio Guard | Free extensions |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £1 a person a month, from 5 people. 14-day free trial, no card. Partner rates for IT providers. | PrivacyScrubber: free; PRO $15 a month or $110 once; TEAMS $99 a month flat 1. Redactprompt: free for one person; organisations from €6 an employee a month, €120 minimum 2 |
| Where it runs | Windows PCs, in Chrome and Edge | PrivacyScrubber: Chrome, on ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini 1. Redactprompt: Chrome and Chromium browsers, on ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Claude 3 |
| What it finds | Card numbers, bank details, National Insurance and NHS numbers, passwords, secret keys, lists of people, documents marked confidential, your own confidential words, and your own clients' names | Redactprompt: IBANs, emails, phone numbers, dates of birth, card numbers, API keys, and UK, US and Dutch ID numbers 3. PrivacyScrubber: names, emails and IDs 1 |
| Files | Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF and text, read on the PC | PrivacyScrubber PRO: PDF and Word files, and screenshots 1. Redactprompt: we found nothing about files |
| Real names back in the answer | When the answer is copied out, the stand-ins become the real names again | PrivacyScrubber: a one-click reveal in the chat 1. Redactprompt: we found nothing about this |
| Central control | Every PC from one account, with rules per AI site and a monthly report | Paid plans only: PrivacyScrubber TEAMS adds an admin dashboard and MDM 1. Redactprompt organisations add a dashboard and Intune 3 |
| Your own clients' names | Your client list, scrambled before it is saved. A client's name becomes "Client A" for the AI and comes back when the answer is copied | Finds people's names in general. We found nothing about a business's own client list |
Where free redaction extensions are the better pick
For one person protecting their own chats, a free extension costs nothing, and PrivacyScrubber PRO reads screenshots too 1. Helio Guard is for the business: the same rules on every PC, your own clients' names, a dated AI policy, and a record of what was kept out.
What Helio Guard does differently
- Built for the business. Rules set once reach every PC within the hour. Staff cannot switch it off.
- It knows your clients. It matches your own client list, not just anything that looks like a name.
- A record for the owner. What was kept out, by whom and where, never the data itself, in a monthly report.
- Cheaper for a small team. 20 people: £20 a month. Redactprompt's minimum is €120 a month, PrivacyScrubber TEAMS $99 12.
Where Helio Guard falls short
- Windows only for now. No Mac.
- Chrome and Edge only. Not Firefox, Brave or Safari.
- It does not yet switch off the AI built into browsers, such as Gemini in Chrome.
- It does not yet scan Microsoft 365 for AI apps that staff have given access to.
- It checks with fixed rules, not a language model. It is precise on the things it knows and does not guess.
- Scanned PDFs with no text in them have nothing to read, so they go through.
- It is new. It launched in 2026 and is in early access.
Common questions
Is a free redaction extension enough for a business?
For one person, it can be. A business needs the same rules on every PC, staff unable to switch it off, and a record of what was kept out. The free tiers do not give that.
Which free extension puts the real names back?
PrivacyScrubber has a one-click reveal in the chat. Helio Guard puts your clients' real names back in anything copied out of the AI tool.
Sources
- PrivacyScrubber Chrome extension and plans. Checked 6 October 2026.
- Redactprompt pricing. Checked 6 October 2026.
- Redactprompt. Checked 6 October 2026.