Mask an Email Address and Phone Number in Java

1. Introduction

Privacy and data security are important elements of software development. Masking sensitive details such as the user’s email address and phone number is usually one procedure used to safeguard user information and prevent its disclosure.

In this tutorial, we’ll investigate how to mask email addresses and phone numbers in Java.

2. Masking Email Addresses

2.1. Using String Manipulation

String manipulation is one of the ways to hide an email by editing the characters and replacing a few with asterisks. Here’s a simple Java code snippet demonstrating this approach:

String email = "testemailaddress@example.com";
String expectedMaskedEmail = "te**************@example.com";
@Test
public void givenEmailAddress_whenUsingStringManipulation_thenMaskEmail() {
    int atIndex = email.indexOf('@');
    String repeatedString = IntStream.range(0, atIndex - 2).mapToObj(i -> "*").collect(Collectors.joining());
    String maskedPart = email.substring(0, atIndex - repeatedString.length()) + repeatedString;
    String maskedEmail = maskedPart + email.substring(atIndex);
    assertEquals(expectedMaskedEmail, maskedEmail);
}

In the given example, we first find the index of the “@” character in the email address. Then, we generate a string of asterisks with a length equal to atIndex-2 using Java’s Stream API and string operations. Note that we subtract 2 digits from the atIndex to make the first two digits of the email.

The maskedPart of the email is generated by combining the characters before the “@” symbol with the generated string of asterisks in the context of the provided Java code.

The email address is then obtained by concatenating the maskedPart and the generated asterisks. Finally, we use the assertEquals() method to verify that the maskedEmail is the same as the expectedMaskedEmail.

2.2. Using Regular Expressions

Another method is to implement regular expressions to conceal the email address. Here’s an example:

@Test
public void givenEmailAddress_whenUsingRegex_thenMaskEmail() {
    int atIndex = email.indexOf('@');
    String regex = "(.{2})(.*)(@.*)";
    String repeatedAsterisks = "*".repeat(atIndex - 2);
    String maskedEmail = email.replaceAll(regex, "$1" + repeatedAsterisks + "$3");
    assertEquals(expectedMaskedEmail, maskedEmail);
}

In the above test method, we first determine the index of the “@” symbol in the email using the indexOf() method. Then, we use the regular expression regex “(.{2})(.*)(@.*)” to capture three groups: the first two characters, the characters between them and the “@” symbol, and the characters following the “@“.

Subsequently, the variable repeatedAsterisks is assigned a string of asterisks with a length corresponding to atIndex -2. Finally, the replaceAll() method applies the regex pattern, replacing the middle part of the email with the generated asterisks.

3. Masking Phone Numbers

3.1. Using String Manipulation

We can also mask phone numbers by performing some character manipulations. Here’s an example:

String phoneNumber = "+1234567890";
String expectedMaskedPhoneNumber = "+******7890";
@Test
public void givenPhoneNumber_whenUsingStringManipulation_thenMaskPhone() {
    String maskedPhoneNumber = phoneNumber.replaceAll("\\d(?=\\d{4})", "*");
    assertEquals(expectedMaskedPhoneNumber, maskedPhoneNumber);
}

Here, we pass the regular expression “\\d(?=\\d{4})” to the replaceAll() method, aiming to identify and replace all numeric digits that are followed by four more digits with asterisks.

3.2. Using Regular Expressions

Similarly to the method used for masking email addresses, regular expressions can be implemented to hide the phone numbers properly. Here’s a Java code snippet demonstrating this method:

@Test
public void givenPhoneNumber_whenUsingRegex_thenMaskPhone() {
    int lastDigitsIndex = phoneNumber.length() - 5;
    String regex = "(\\+)(\\d+)(\\d{4})";
    String repeatedAsterisks = "*".repeat(Math.max(0, lastDigitsIndex));
    String maskedPhoneNumber = phoneNumber.replaceAll(regex, "$1" + repeatedAsterisks + "$3");
    assertEquals(expectedMaskedPhoneNumber, maskedPhoneNumber);
}

In the above code snippet, we define a regular expression regex “(\\+)(\\d+)(\\d{4})” that captures three groups: the plus sign, the leading digits, and the last four digits.

Subsequently, we generate a string repeatedAsterisks of repeated asterisks based on the calculated lastDigitsIndex. Then,  we use the replaceAll() method to apply the regex pattern, replacing the middle digits with asterisks.

4. Conclusion

In conclusion, the masking of sensitive information is critical for protecting user privacy and adhering to data security regulations. Hence, we see in this tutorial how to utilize mechanisms such as string manipulation and regular expressions to mask email addresses and phone numbers.

As always, the complete code samples for this article can be found over on GitHub.