--- sourceDocument: Australia Conversational Interfaces sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/conversational-interfaces Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia Conversational Interfaces ft:clusterId : - convint bundleId : - convint workflow : - Platform --- # Sensitive Data Handler # Sensitive Data Handler {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated March 12, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of Sensitive Data Handler The Sensitive Data Handler is a ServiceNow feature that detects and masks sensitive data entered during Agent Chat or Virtual Agent conversations. It prevents unauthorized exposure of sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or confidential company data. This feature also supports collecting sensitive data for user authentication processes. Note that the Sensitive Data Handler is planned for future deprecation, with the Data Privacy application recommended as its replacement. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Detection and Masking:** Automatically identifies sensitive data in conversations across chat widgets, mobile apps (iOS, Android), and supported channels including SMS, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Workplace. * **Configurable Regular Expressions:** Includes predefined patterns for credit cards, Social Security numbers, and emails, with the ability to add custom regular expressions and masking patterns to cover additional sensitive data types. * **Message Handling:** Masks sensitive data in transcripts and notifies both requesters and agents when sensitive data is detected. It blocks agents from sending messages containing sensitive data to requesters, showing an error instead. * **User Authentication Support:** Can be configured to pass sensitive user authentication data (e.g., Social Security number, date of birth) securely to external entities. * **Flexible Installation:** The Sensitive Data Handler plugin can be installed independently, without requiring the Glide Virtual Agent or Agent Chat plugins. ## Practical Configuration Details * You control whether sensitive data handling applies to inbound messages from requesters, outbound messages from agents, or both. * You can customize notification messages shown to users when sensitive data is masked. * The system includes a timeout mechanism to prevent delays caused by improperly configured regular expressions. ## Predefined Regular Expressions The handler comes with built-in patterns for detecting common sensitive data: * **Credit Cards:** Visa, American Express, Mastercard, Diners Club, Discover with detailed patterns matching card number formats and lengths. * **Social Security Numbers:** Matches valid SSN formats with rules to exclude invalid number ranges. * **Email Addresses:** Detects standard email formats using alphanumeric and special characters. ## Why It Matters Using the Sensitive Data Handler helps ensure compliance with data protection regulations by preventing sensitive information leakage during digital conversations. It enhances security and trust by masking sensitive information in real-time and maintaining secure internal transcripts. The Sensitive Data Handler detects and masks sensitive data entered in Agent Chat or Virtual Agent conversations. It can also collect sensitive data for processes such as user authentication. Note: This feature is being prepared for future deprecation. It will be hidden and no longer available for installation but will continue to be supported. For details, see the [Deprecation Process \[KB0867184\]](https://hi.service-now.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0867184) article in the Now Support knowledge base. Install the Data Privacy application as a replacement. For more information, see [Data Privacy](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=data-privacy-landing&version=australia&pubname=australia-platform-security&ft:locale=en-US). Possible situations when the Sensitive Data Handler might detect and mask sensitive data include: * A requester enters sensitive data, such as a Social Security number, during a conversation with a live agent or virtual agent. * An agent enters company information, such as a manager's confidential email address, that the requester should not have access to. * A requester enters sensitive data in a pre-chat or post-chat survey. {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__ul_c25_14z_bsb} The Sensitive Data Handler detects and masks sensitive data when the requester is conversing through the chat widget, mobile apps (iOS or Android), or any supported adapter channel (SMS, Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Workplace). You can configure the following: * Regular expressions for each type of sensitive data (for example, Social Security number or credit card number). * Whether sensitive data handling works only for inbound (from a requester) messages, outbound (from a live agent) messages, or both. * Messages that display to the requester or agent informing them that sensitive data has been masked. {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__ul_uq2_b3t_gsb} If the requester sends a message containing sensitive data to an agent, the system notifies both the requester and the agent that the message contained sensitive data. The system masks the sensitive data in the transcript and marks it as sensitive in the internal transcript. If an agent tries to send a message containing sensitive data to a requester, the system doesn't send the message. Instead, the agent sees an error, and the system tags the message as sensitive in the internal transcript. You can configure the Sensitive Data Handler to pass user authentication information to another entity. The requester might provide sensitive data during a conversation to prove their identity (for example, a Social Security number, date of birth, or email address). You can install the Sensitive Data Handler plugin (com.glide.sensitive_data_handling) by itself, without a Glide Virtual Agent or Agent Chat plugin. You can add, edit, and delete regular expressions in the Sensitive Data Handling module. ## Regular expressions {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__section_npy_5cm_gsb} The Sensitive Data Handler includes predefined regular expressions for credit card numbers, debit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and email addresses. When the Sensitive Data Handler detects a regular expression, it uses the defined masking pattern to mask sensitive data. To define your own regular expressions and patterns to mask other sensitive data, see [Configure Sensitive Data Handler](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/d9g~dawVW9XI1Duuf22efA "Detect and mask sensitive information that is shared in Agent Chat or Virtual Agent conversations."). If a regular expression isn't configured correctly, the system might stall while matching the regular expression against the message. To help avoid this issue, the system times out after one second. {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__table_r1n_gdm_gsb__entry__3} | Name | Regular expression | Details | |-|-|-| | Credit Card - Visa | \\b4\[0-9\]{12}(?:\[0-9\]{3})?\\b | * Card number starts with 4. * Current card numbers have 16 digits, and older card numbers have 13 digits. {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__ul_a2x_bct_gsb} | | Credit Card - American Express | \\b3\[47\]\[0-9\]{13}\\b | * Card number starts with 34 or 37. * Card number has 15 digits. {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__ul_kj5_2ct_gsb} | | Credit Card - Mastercard | \\b(?:5\[1-5\]\[0-9\]{2}\|222\[1-9\]\|22\[3-9\]\[0-9\]\|2\[3-6\]\[0-9\]{2}\|27\[01\]\[0-9\]\|2720)\[0-9\]{12}\\b | * Card number starts with a number between 51-55 or 2221-2720. * Card number has 16 digits. {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__ul_rhl_gct_gsb} | | Credit Card - Diners Club | \\b3(?:0\[0-5\]\|\[68\]\[0-9\])\[0-9\]{11}\\b | * Card number starts with 36, 38, or 300-305. * Card number has 14 digits. * Cards that start with 5 and have 16 digits should be processed like a Mastercard. {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__ul_sxn_jct_gsb} | | Credit Card - Discover | \\b6(?:011\|5\[0-9\]{2})\[0-9\]{12}\\b | * Card number starts with 65 or 6011. * Card number has 16 digits. {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__ul_qbn_4ct_gsb} | | Social Security number | \\b(?!666\|000\|9\\d{2})\\d{3}-(?!00)\\d{2}-(?!0{4})\\d{4}\\b | * First 3 digits cannot be 000, 666, or 900-999. * Hyphen (-) * Middle 2 digits are 01-99 and cannot be 00. * Hyphen (-) * Last 4 digits should be 0001-9999 and cannot be 0000. {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__ul_kjf_tct_gsb} | | Email | \\b\[\\w!#$%\&'\*+/=?\`{\|}\~\^-\]+(?:\\.\[\\w!#$%\&'\*+/=?\`{\|}\~\^-\]+)\*@(?:\[a-zA-Z0-9-\]+\\.)+\[a-zA-Z\]{2,6}\\b | * Word * Period (.) * Word * @ symbol * String of alphanumeric characters at least one character long. * Period (.) * Alphabetical string 2-6 characters long. {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__ul_atk_d1c_hsb} | [Table 1. Predefined regular expressions] {#ac-sensitive-data-overview__table_r1n_gdm_gsb}