Content moderator template

What it does

Masks, doesn’t delete

Replaces each offensive word with a mask character, so the rest of the comment still reads.

Counts what it caught

Returns how many words were masked, so you can hold heavy posts for review.

Your choice of mask

Use *, #, - or • for the masked letters.

Keeps your key private

The page calls your own server, which holds the key and limits each visitor to 10 checks a minute.

How it works

The route that masks a piece of text.

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const MASKS = ['*', '#', '-', '•'];

// POST /api/moderate { text, mask }
app.post('/api/moderate', async (req, res) => {
  const text = str(req.body.text, 5000);
  const mask = MASKS.includes(req.body.mask) ? req.body.mask : '*';
  if (!text) return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Enter some text to check.' });

  try {
    const data = await callApi('profanityfilter', { body: { text, mask } });
    res.json({
      success: true,
      original: text,
      filtered: data.filteredText,
      isProfane: data.isProfane,
      profaneWords: data.profaneWords || 0,
      mask: data.mask
    });
  } catch (err) {
    res.status(err.status || 502).json({ error: err.message });
  }
});

See the whole file on GitHub →

Deploy it

1. Get a free API key

   The free plan includes 200 credits a month, no card needed. Create your key.

2. Deploy it

   Click Deploy to Vercel. Vercel copies the repo to your GitHub account and asks for APIVERVE_API_KEY: paste your key there.

3. Open your app

   Vercel builds it and gives you a live URL, usually in about a minute. Every push to the repo redeploys it.

Try the Profanity Filter API — the call this template makes

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{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "isProfane": true,
    "filteredText": "Today is so **** hot! Why the **** would anyone go outside?",
    "mask": "*",
    "trimmed": false,
    "profaneWords": 2
  }
}