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How to Install the Unplex Desktop App

What the Unplex Desktop app adds over the web app, how to install it on Windows, and how to sign in, turn on on-device anonymization, and redact PDFs before they are uploaded.

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Written by Massimo Ferrari

Unplex Desktop puts Unplex one keystroke away on your Windows machine, and adds something the browser cannot do: it removes sensitive client details on your own computer, before anything is sent. This guide covers what it offers, how to install it, and how to get going.

What the desktop app gives you

  • Instant access from anywhere. A global shortcut — Ctrl+Alt+U by default, and configurable — summons the window over whatever you are working in, and Esc hides it again. Closing the window leaves the app running in the system tray rather than quitting it.

  • Your usual projects and chats. Pick a workspace and a project, then chat as you would in the web app, with searchable chat history and a step-by-step view of what the agent did to answer.

  • Anonymization on your device. Names, IBANs, addresses and similar details are detected as you type and replaced with tokens before the message leaves your machine, then mapped back for display so the conversation stays readable. Before each send you get a review: reveal an item, keep one in the clear on purpose, or re-anonymize it.

  • Control over what Unplex receives. Both privacy modes replace sensitive values with tokens; Local only additionally keeps the token-to-value mapping on your device, so it is never shared.

  • PDF redaction before upload. The Documents tab takes a batch of PDFs, redacts them locally, and uploads only the redacted copies to your project. The originals never leave your device.

  • Your language and your look. Interface in English, German, French or Italian, light/dark/automatic theme, and an option to start with your computer.

Before you start

  • Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. The desktop app is Windows-only for now.

  • An Unplex account with a seat in at least one workspace.

  • Roughly 1 GB of disk space for the app. The on-device privacy features download what they need the first time you use them: about 0.5 GB per detection language, plus about 2.5 GB if you enable the optional on-device AI labeling model.

  • Network access to Unplex. If your machine lacks the Microsoft WebView2 runtime, the installer fetches it automatically — Windows 11 already includes it.

Install the app

  1. Get the installer. It is a single file named Unplex Desktop_<version>_x64-setup.exe. If you do not have the download link, ask your Unplex contact or your workspace administrator.

  2. Run it. It installs for your user account only, so you do not need administrator rights or an IT ticket. Installation takes under a minute.

  3. If Windows warns you with “Windows protected your PC”, choose More info → Run anyway. Current builds are not yet code-signed, so Windows reports an unknown publisher.

  4. Launch “Unplex Desktop” from the Start menu.

Sign in and pick a project

  1. Open Settings and click Sign in. Your browser opens for the login and returns you to the app; the session then renews itself.

  2. Choose your workspace. Chats and documents belong to the workspace you pick here.

  3. Pick a project from the selector at the top of the window. The same project is used by both Chat and Documents.

The welcome screen tracks these two steps, so you can always see what is still missing.

Turn on anonymization (recommended)

  1. Go to Settings → Privacy and enable Local privacy guard.

  2. The first time, the app downloads its detection models. This is one-time and can take a few minutes; progress is shown in the app, and you can keep working while it finishes.

  3. Under Installed language models, select the languages your documents are actually written in.

Once it is ready, the pill on the message box reads Anonymize: On and names the policy in use. Turning the guard off sends your text as-is, so leave it on unless you have a reason not to.

Optionally enable Use an on-device model for smarter labeling for more precise decisions about what is sensitive. It downloads about 2.5 GB once and uses your graphics card when one is available; on a CPU-only machine expect roughly twice the processing time per page.

Redact and upload PDFs

  1. Open the Documents tab and drop your PDFs in, or use Add PDFs.

  2. Each document's language is detected as it is added. If a row shows an undetermined language, or a language you have not installed, set it from the row's ⋯ → Language menu. This is per document on purpose: analysing a document with the wrong language model produces unreliable results, so the app flags it instead of guessing.

  3. Choose the Redaction profile for the project — from removing every detected detail to keeping structured identifiers intact.

  4. Select the documents and click Redact, or Redact & upload to do both in one pass. You can open the original and the redacted copy side by side, and inspect exactly what was removed under ⋯ → Redaction details.

  5. If a document is held for review, open it, check the highlighted text that will be removed, then Approve & upload.

Redaction covers the text layer of a PDF. Text inside an image — a scanned annex, a photo of an ID document, a stamp — is not removed. The app warns you when a document contains images so you can check it yourself.

If something does not work

  • No projects in the selector. Make sure you are signed in and have chosen a workspace. If the workspace is disabled or you have no seat, ask an administrator.

  • Anonymization shows “Preparing…” or “Starting…”. The models are still downloading or the guard is still starting. Redaction unlocks as soon as it is ready.

  • A document will not redact. Its language is probably not set or not installed — set it on the row, or add the language in Settings → Privacy.

  • A new quick-open shortcut has no effect. Shortcut changes apply after you restart the app.

  • Anything else, contact Unplex support from the Help Center — we can look at it with you.

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