RedactBox

Redact emails across every major archive format

Upload .mbox, .pst, .eml or .msg files as they are, with no conversion or manual extraction, and get one clean export from a single project.

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Why email format matters

Email archives come in different shapes depending on where they're exported from. A SAR request landing on an education records officer's desk might include a .pst from Outlook, a .mbox from a personal Gmail, and a handful of .eml attachments forwarded separately.

Most redaction tools make you convert first, losing headers, attachments or thread context along the way. RedactBox processes each format natively, so the email you see is the email that was sent.

Formats we support natively

Four formats, one workflow. Upload any combination into the same project.

.mbox

The Unix mailbox standard. Exported by Gmail, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and many Linux mail clients.

.pst

Microsoft Outlook's personal storage format. The default for corporate mailbox exports and Office 365 eDiscovery.

.eml

Single-message RFC 822 format. Typically created when you forward or save an individual email.

.msg

Outlook's single-message format. Often produced when a user drags an email out of Outlook to their desktop.

How it works

  1. 1

    Upload

    Drag and drop any combination of .mbox, .pst, .eml, or .msg into a project. Mix formats freely.

  2. 2

    Detect & parse

    RedactBox auto-detects each file's format and parses it natively. Headers, attachments, and threads stay intact.

  3. 3

    Redact & export

    Review and redact in a unified inbox view, then export cleaned PDFs or ZIPs, with no format conversion required.

What you get

Duplicate detection works across formats too. Learn more about duplicate detection

Native parsing for each format

No lossy conversion step between upload and review.

Large file support

Multi-gigabyte .pst archives handled server-side.

Preserves headers, attachments, and thread relationships

The email you see is the email that was sent.

Works with Gmail Takeout .mbox, Outlook .pst, and .eml/.msg exports

Whatever format your evidence arrives in, you can process it.

Unified review inbox across mixed-format projects

One searchable, redactable view, whatever the source.

Duplicate detection works across formats

Catches the same message even when it arrives as both .pst and .eml.

Exports to PDF, ZIP, or both

Your choice of output format for the finished response.

GDPR-compliant processing

Files deleted after the project closes.

Built for real compliance workflows

Where format-juggling gets in the way of meeting statutory deadlines.

Subject Access Requests (SARs & DSARs)

Responders often receive archives in whatever format the original mail client used. RedactBox ingests them all in one project so you can respond on time without format-juggling.

Education records & student data

Schools and universities get SAR and FOI requests that span Outlook .pst, personal Gmail .mbox, and .eml attachments forwarded between staff. Upload them all into one project and redact without conversion pain.

FOI responses

Local authorities and public bodies often receive FOI requests touching multiple systems. Native support for every major email format keeps the response accurate.

Questions

RedactBox natively supports the four most common email archive formats: .mbox (used by Gmail Takeout, Thunderbird, and Apple Mail), .pst (Microsoft Outlook personal storage), .eml (single-message RFC 822), and .msg (Outlook single-message). You can upload any combination of these into the same project.

Yes. RedactBox parses .pst files server-side, including multi-gigabyte archives produced by Outlook or Microsoft 365 eDiscovery exports. Headers, attachments, and folder structure are preserved during parsing.

No. RedactBox auto-detects each file and parses it in its native format. You never have to convert .pst to .mbox or extract .msg messages by hand. The email you upload is the email you redact.

Yes. A single project can contain any combination of .mbox, .pst, .eml, and .msg files. Every message appears in a unified inbox view so you can review and redact without worrying about where each one came from.

Every format. One workflow.

Start free. Upload any format you need to redact.

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RedactBox

Redaction for email archives and PDFs, built for SARs, FOI requests and disclosure.

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