How privacy labels become redactions
Open Memory Archive does not hide private material with a visual overlay. It reads privacy labels before export, writes a public archive with placeholders, and leaves private source text or private media out of that public archive.
Context: The privacy annotations shown below are typically set by the upstream platform, not by the end user. The archive builder reads them and applies redaction automatically. End users see only the final result.
This demo is not a rule-editing screen. The current public toolkit shows the archive format, builder, redaction layer, and offline viewer. Archive organisers mark privacy in source data such as CSV or JSON. A future application can expose the same fields as checkboxes or dropdowns.
The process
Each person, event, chapter, place, or media item carries simple privacy fields.
The builder uses the public-demo profile to decide what can be shown.
The public archive contains placeholders, public media, checksums, and a redaction log.
See the difference: source vs. exported text
Below is actual text from the family archive example. The left column shows the source material; the right column shows what appears in the public export.
| Source (family-only) | Public export |
|---|---|
| Anna Korhonen. Lives in Turku. Manages the family's archive and decides what is shared publicly. | [REDACTED] - living person, consent not confirmed |
| Family argument at the summer cottage, July 1991. Consent for this entry was withdrawn by Anna in 2024. | [REDACTED] - consent was withdrawn |
| Anna's mother was estranged from the family between 1988 and 1995. Matti's notebook mentions it three times but Anna asked to keep those pages private. | [REDACTED] - marked as private or family-only |
| Harbour Market Day, summer 1967. Matti's notebook records 52 boats and a queue around the block for smoked vendace. | Harbour Market Day, summer 1967. Matti's notebook records 52 boats and a queue around the block for smoked vendace. |
How someone marks privacy before export
Before export, each item is marked with simple privacy fields:
public: can be shown in the public archivefamily: keep for family or private copies; redact from the public demoprivate: do not publishconsentStatus: withdrawn: hide because consent was withdrawnlivingPersonStatus: living: treat cautiously unless public consent is clearcontainsPersonalData: true: this item contains personal information
In the file-based demo, these fields appear as CSV columns such as privacyScope, consentStatus, livingPersonStatus, containsPersonalData, and containsSpecialCategoryData.
Community memory demo: 3 redactions
The main demo archive is built from ordinary Markdown, CSV, and local media files. It produces the current public demo with 3 items redacted.
| Source item | Privacy labels | Public archive result |
|---|---|---|
person-anna / Anna Korhonen |
family, unknown consent, living, containsPersonalData: true |
Redacted person placeholder |
event-private-meeting |
family, unknown consent, living, containsPersonalData: true |
Redacted item placeholder |
media-private / Private participant note |
family, unknown consent, living, containsPersonalData: true |
Redacted media; source file not copied |
person-matti / Matti Korhonen |
public, not_required, deceased, containsPersonalData: true |
Displayed in the public archive |
media-note / Harbour market photograph |
public, not_required, not_applicable, containsPersonalData: false |
Copied into the archive media folder |
Redacted family demo: consent and private media
The second demo uses a more privacy-focused fictional family archive. It shows withdrawn consent, family-only scope, private text, private media, and signed URL removal.
| Source item | Privacy labels | Public archive result |
|---|---|---|
section-private / Private detail |
family, unknown consent, containsPersonalData: true |
Redacted section; private text removed |
person-living / Anna Korhonen |
family, unknown consent, living, containsPersonalData: true |
Redacted person placeholder |
event-withdrawn / Withdrawn private event |
private, withdrawn consent, living, containsPersonalData: true |
Redacted item; reason is withdrawn_consent |
media-private / Private family recording |
family, unknown consent, living, containsPersonalData: true, signed URL present |
Redacted media; private file and signed URL not included |
What is actually published
The public archive includes the viewer, structured archive data, a privacy summary, checksums, and public media files. It does not include private source text, private media files, private storage paths, or signed URLs that were removed by the redaction policy.