Dr. Ali Daniel

Equine surgeon (DACVS) and software developer. Founder of DIGISCAN. I built Custodis so I can use AI on my own documents without handing over the names.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

I'm Ali Daniel. Board-certified equine surgeon, software developer and founder of DigiScan.

Custodis: AI privacy software that works on your device
EQPACS: a cloud DICOM archive for equine vets
DigiHoof: AI landmarking for hoof radiographs
HipiZipi: a game I built for my kids

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@thzeelous So true. That's why I'd rather take the names and account numbers off before anything leaves my phone, because once it's up there I can't pull it back.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@fromsinaimportx @bot Wow, getting it to build its own import feature is impressive. My worry is having every password in one place an agent can reach, so I think I'd leave the bank and email ones out of it. Anyone else split them like that?

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@TonyYangAI Exactly — those go with the patient info when I only need the charges explained. Dates of service and the provider's name point back just as easily, so they stay off the copy too.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

A lot of people now paste medical bills and insurance letters into AI to make sense of them, and honestly I get it. Those letters are hard to read.

My habit is to cover my name, address and account or member number first. The charges are all the AI needs to explain them.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@SunCoastAiLab Exactly — that check before anything goes out is the part I care about most. When a scan comes out too faint I just shoot it again in better light, and that usually clears it.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

I run a few businesses, so I built my own AI assistant on my Mac to help keep them organized.

Every document goes through Custodis first. Names and account numbers get swapped out on my Mac, the key to put them back stays there, and only the redacted copy goes to the AI.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

https://t.co/KJNbygBo1P Custodis is not affiliated with the IRS. This post is general information about privacy and AI tools, not tax or legal advice, and it does not say whether AI use is permitted for any client or engagement. Tax professionals should follow their own professional, confidentiality and client-consent obligations.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

Lots of people let AI go through their tax returns now, and honestly I get it.

My habit with a W-2 or 1040: hide the name, SSN and address first, keep the wages and withholding readable. I built Custodis to do that on my phone and put the real details back after the AI answers.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@valuecm @Kalshi So true, where it sits and whose law applies is the question I keep coming back to as well. I think it's the same one for the rest of us before we paste a bank statement into any chat window.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@sesigl This is such a thoughtful list, and I'm glad you ended on where the data goes. Tax prep and health records are where I'm most careful, so my own assistant only gets those after the names and account numbers come off. Curious if anyone else does that.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@thzeelous Ctrl Z is an honest test, I like it! My worry is that once a file's been uploaded there's no undo button, so that's where I slow down.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@witcheer Good to know, I'll give pypdf a try. I built Custodis, it hides names and account numbers on your phone before you ask AI. If you ever try it (https://t.co/vchhSDeurI), I'd really like to hear what you think.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@yacineMTB Oh my god, friends feeding old MSN logs to Claude is the part that got me. Data leaks were happening long before AI, but now we're handing over our own history ourselves. Curious whether anyone strips names out first.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@SunCoastAiLab I'm glad you noticed that part, it matters a lot to me too. Scanned PDFs and phone scans go through the same way, but a faint scan or handwriting can get missed, which is why the copy gets checked before anything goes to the AI.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@iamdtfiedler @Muse Oh nice, glad it had a proper place to keep that. Do you know if you can see or delete what it saved from the paperwork afterwards? That's the part I'd want to check.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@witcheer Oh nice, that sounds like a smart setup. Which PDF tool did you go with? I'm always curious what holds up on the messy scans.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@theacountantcpa @jasononfirms I had the same reaction when I read it. Keeping the password from the agent helps, but once it's signed in it can still see whatever that account holds. Your own framework sounds like the right call to me.

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@witcheer Appreciate you sharing that! How does it do with scanned PDFs, like an older bank statement?

[Dr. Ali Daniel @DrAliDaniel]

@0xVibeDino That's a smart workaround, and simple enough that I'd actually try it. Dating every line would also make it easy to see what's gone stale. Thank you for walking me through it.