# Character Scramble This generator replaces letters with random other letters and numbers with random other numbers. Punctuation, whitespace, and mathematical symbols are preserved. For example, for the following input string: `ABC.123 123-456-789 Go!` The output would be something like: `PRX.804 296-915-378 Ab!` This generator securely masks letters and numbers. There is no way to recover the original data. Character Scramble is similar to [Character Substitution](https://docs.tonic.ai/app/generation/generators/generator-reference/character-substitution), with a couple of key differences. While you can enable consistency for the entire value, Character Scramble does not always replace the same source character with the same destination character. Because there is no guarantee of unique values, you cannot use Character Scramble on unique columns. Character Substitution, however, does always map the same source character to the same destination character. Character Substitution is always consistent, which makes it less secure than Character Scramble. You can use Character Substitution on unique columns. ## Characteristics


Consistency	Yes, can be made self-consistent
Linking	No, cannot be linked
Differential privacy	No
Data-free	No
Allowed for primary keys	No
Allowed for unique columns	No
Uses format-preserving encryption (FPE)	No
Privacy ranking	3 if not consistent 4 if consistent
Generator ID (for the API)	`TextMaskGenerator`

## How to configure To configure the generator, toggle the **Consistency** setting to indicate whether to make the generator self-consistent. By default, the generator is not consistent. If [Structural data encryption](https://docs.tonic.ai/app/generation/generators-assign-config/generators-data-encryption-config) is enabled, then to use it for this column, in the advanced options section, toggle **Use data encryption process** to the on position.