> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://phidatainc.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# PII Detection

> Block SSNs, credit cards, emails, and phone numbers with PIIDetectionGuardrail, or mask them with mask_pii=True.

Use `PIIDetectionGuardrail` to reject requests containing PII or replace detected values with masked placeholders.

<Warning>
  This example catches `InputCheckError` around `print_response()`, but Agno v2.7.2 converts that guardrail exception into a run with `RunStatus.error`. The source therefore prints false success messages for blocked inputs. Use the status-checking pattern in the [PII Detection guide](/guardrails/usage/agent/pii-detection) instead.
</Warning>

```python pii_detection.py theme={null}
"""
Pii Detection
=============================

Example demonstrating how to use PII detection guardrails with Agno Agent.
"""

import asyncio

from agno.agent import Agent
from agno.exceptions import InputCheckError
from agno.guardrails import PIIDetectionGuardrail
from agno.models.openai import OpenAIResponses


# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Create Agent
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
async def main():
    """Demonstrate PII detection guardrails functionality."""
    print("PII Detection Guardrails Demo")
    print("=" * 50)

    # Create an agent with PII detection protection
    agent = Agent(
        name="Privacy-Protected Agent",
        model=OpenAIResponses(id="gpt-5-mini"),
        pre_hooks=[PIIDetectionGuardrail()],
        description="An agent that helps with customer service while protecting privacy.",
        instructions="You are a helpful customer service assistant. Always protect user privacy and handle sensitive information appropriately.",
    )

    # Test 1: Normal request without PII (should work)
    print("\n[TEST 1] Normal request without PII")
    print("-" * 30)
    try:
        agent.print_response(
            input="Can you help me understand your return policy?",
        )
        print("[OK] Normal request processed successfully")
    except InputCheckError as e:
        print(f"[ERROR] Unexpected error: {e}")

    # Test 2: Request with SSN (should be blocked)
    print("\n[TEST 2] Input containing SSN")
    print("-" * 30)
    try:
        agent.print_response(
            input="Hi, my Social Security Number is 123-45-6789. Can you help me with my account?",
        )
        print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
    except InputCheckError as e:
        print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
        print(f"   Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")

    # Test 3: Request with credit card (should be blocked)
    print("\n[TEST 3] Input containing credit card")
    print("-" * 30)
    try:
        agent.print_response(
            input="I'd like to update my payment method. My new card number is 4532 1234 5678 9012.",
        )
        print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
    except InputCheckError as e:
        print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
        print(f"   Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")

    # Test 4: Request with email address (should be blocked)
    print("\n[TEST 4] Input containing email address")
    print("-" * 30)
    try:
        agent.print_response(
            input="Please send the receipt to john.doe@example.com for my recent purchase.",
        )
        print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
    except InputCheckError as e:
        print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
        print(f"   Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")

    # Test 5: Request with phone number (should be blocked)
    print("\n[TEST 5] Input containing phone number")
    print("-" * 30)
    try:
        agent.print_response(
            input="My phone number is 555-123-4567. Please call me about my order status.",
        )
        print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
    except InputCheckError as e:
        print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
        print(f"   Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")

    # Test 6: Mixed PII in context (should be blocked)
    print("\n[TEST 6] Multiple PII types in one request")
    print("-" * 30)
    try:
        agent.print_response(
            input="Hi, I'm John Smith. My email is john@company.com and phone is 555.987.6543. I need help with my account.",
        )
        print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
    except InputCheckError as e:
        print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
        print(f"   Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")

    # Test 7: Edge case - formatted differently (should still be blocked)
    print("\n[TEST 7] PII with different formatting")
    print("-" * 30)
    try:
        agent.print_response(
            input="Can you verify my credit card ending in 4532123456789012?",
        )
        print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
    except InputCheckError as e:
        print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
        print(f"   Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")

    print("\n" + "=" * 50)
    print("PII Detection Demo Complete")
    print("All sensitive information was successfully blocked!")

    # Create an agent with PII detection which masks the PII in the input
    agent = Agent(
        name="Privacy-Protected Agent (Masked)",
        model=OpenAIResponses(id="gpt-5-mini"),
        pre_hooks=[PIIDetectionGuardrail(mask_pii=True)],
        description="An agent that helps with customer service while protecting privacy.",
        instructions="You are a helpful customer service assistant. Always protect user privacy and handle sensitive information appropriately.",
    )

    # Test 8: Request with SSN (should be masked)
    print("\n[TEST 8] Input containing SSN (masked mode)")
    print("-" * 30)
    agent.print_response(
        input="Hi, my Social Security Number is 123-45-6789. Can you help me with my account?",
    )


# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Run Agent
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())
```

## Run the Example

<Steps>
  <Snippet file="create-venv-step.mdx" />

  <Step title="Install dependencies">
    ```bash theme={null}
    uv pip install -U agno openai
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Export your OpenAI API key">
    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash Mac/Linux theme={null}
      export OPENAI_API_KEY="your_openai_api_key_here"
      ```

      ```bash Windows theme={null}
      $Env:OPENAI_API_KEY="your_openai_api_key_here"
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use run status checks">
    Add `from agno.run import RunStatus`. Replace each `try`/`except InputCheckError` block with `response = agent.run(...)`, then treat `response.status == RunStatus.error` as blocked.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the example">
    Save the code above as `pii_detection.py`, then run:

    ```bash theme={null}
    python pii_detection.py
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

Full source: [cookbook/02\_agents/08\_guardrails/pii\_detection.py](https://github.com/agno-agi/agno/blob/main/cookbook/02_agents/08_guardrails/pii_detection.py)