# Redact IMEI numbers

> Redact 15-digit IMEI numbers from warranty claims, device logs, and repair tickets.

Canonical: https://bitbanger.in/entities/imei
Last updated: 2026-10-27

Category: Device identifiers · Entity type: `device.imei`

An IMEI uniquely identifies physical hardware and survives factory resets, so it links every later owner of that device to the original record.

## How Redactly detects IMEI numbers

- Matched by regex for exactly 15 digits, then confirmed with the Luhn checksum used by IMEIs.
- The checksum is what separates an IMEI from an arbitrary 15-digit order number.
- Runs independently of the model.

## Why redact IMEI numbers?

IMEI plus a name is a device-ownership record, which is sensitive in warranty, insurance, and law-enforcement contexts.

## Example request

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.bitbanger.in/v1/redact \
  -H "X-API-Key: rdct_your_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text": "Replacement approved for IMEI 356938035643809, model SM-A546B.", "style": "replace"}'
```

## FAQ

**Does Redactly redact IMEI numbers automatically?**

Yes. Send text to the API and every detected type is redacted, including IMEI numbers. To redact only this type, pass the value device.imei in the entities filter. No training or configuration is required.

**What happens to IMEI numbers after redaction?**

With style set to replace, each match becomes [device.imei] — the entity type in square brackets. Setting style to mask replaces every character with a block character, and remove deletes the span entirely.

## Related entity types

- [MAC addresses](https://bitbanger.in/entities/mac-address) — Redact hardware MAC addresses from network logs, DHCP dumps, and device inventories.
- [Device identifiers](https://bitbanger.in/entities/device-id) — Redact device IDs and installation identifiers from analytics payloads and crash reports.
- [IP addresses](https://bitbanger.in/entities/ip-address) — Redact IPv4 addresses from access logs, error traces, and analytics exports with a format check per octet.

Try it on your own text: https://bitbanger.in/entities/imei