For Malaysian advocates, solicitors and paralegals
Worried about putting client files into AI?
Take the client out first.
Cloak is a local de-identification tool for legal documents. Drop in a
document. Cloak detects common personal identifiers and replaces them with
consistent placeholders like [PERSON_1], [NRIC_1]
and [ADDRESS_1], while keeping the document useful for
drafting, summarising and analysis.
Your document never leaves your computer.
There is no Cloak server for it to go to. Cloak is a program that runs on your machine, the way Word does. It has no account, no sign-in, and no way of its own to send a document anywhere.
Your computer
Your document→ Cloak→ De-identified copy
The only thing that ever goes further is the de-identified copy, and only when you decide to paste it somewhere. Cloak does not do that step, and does not know which tool you use.
Free during beta. No account required. Nothing to configure.
Windows will say the publisher is unknown, because the installer is not
code signed yet. Choose More info, then Run anyway.
See what Cloak does
LETTER OF DEMAND
Dear Mr Tan Wei Ming,
We act for Harbour Cafe Sdn Bhd of 12 Jalan Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.
The sum of RM 18,500.00 remains due from you in respect of invoices INV-2201 and INV-2214, which fell due on 14 April 2026.
Please contact Aina Zulkifli on +60 12 345 6789 within 14 days.
Same document, less client information. The amount and the dates stay, because that is what you need the answer about. Paste the AI answer back into Cloak and the real details return.
The only thing that ever goes further is the de-identified copy, and only when you decide to paste it somewhere. Cloak does not do that step, and does not know which tool you use.
Free during beta. No account required. Nothing to configure.
Windows will say the publisher is unknown, because the installer is not
code signed yet. Choose More info, then Run anyway.
How you would use it
1. Open the document in Cloak
It reads the file on your machine and shows you what it found, highlighted, before anything else happens.
2. Read the result, then copy it
You check the de-identified version yourself and paste it into whichever AI tool you already use.
3. Paste the answer back
Cloak puts the real names, addresses and numbers back in, so the work is usable on the matter.
Consistent throughout
One person keeps one placeholder everywhere they appear, so the reasoning still holds together.
Installing it
Both warn you the first time, because Cloak is not yet signed with a paid certificate. Neither warning means anything is wrong with the file. You click through it once and never see it again.
On a Mac
about a minute- Open Cloak-Mac.dmg from your Downloads. A window opens showing the Cloak icon next to an Applications folder.
- Drag Cloak onto the Applications folder. That installs it.
- Eject the disk image, then open Cloak from your Applications folder.
- macOS will say it cannot check the app for malicious software. Click Done.
- Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security. Scroll down and click Open Anyway next to Cloak.
- Open Cloak again. It starts normally from now on.
On Windows
about a minute- Open Cloak-Windows.exe from your Downloads. Your browser may first ask whether to keep the file: choose Keep.
- A blue screen says Windows protected your PC. Click More info, then Run anyway.
- The installer opens. Accept the suggested location, or choose your own, and click Install.
- It installs for your account only, so it does not ask for an administrator password.
- Open Cloak from the Start menu.
Those warnings appear because the installers are not code signed yet, not because anything scanned them and objected. Signing certificates are on the list. If your firm locks down software installation, this is the point to speak to whoever manages that.
Why it exists
An advocate and solicitor owes a duty of confidentiality to the client. Pasting a client document into a third party service is a disclosure, whether or not that service is well run. Cloak is a step you take before that point, so that what you paste is about the matter and not about the client.
It will miss things
Cloak recognises personal information by pattern, and recognition is never complete. Unusual names, unfamiliar formats and facts expressed in ordinary words can survive. That is why it shows you the highlighted document first: reading it is the control, and it is yours. Cloak does not make a document safe to send, and it does not discharge any professional obligation.