WorkflowData Privacy & AI Governance

DSAR Automation

DSAR automation that answers every request inside its legal clock, with no other person's data released

Every request answered inside its legal clock, with no other person's data released.

See one case, screen by screen ↓
demo312recordsfound for one access request in 6 of 9 systems, swept in parallel in under three hours
demo1phone numberof another customer, spoken in words in a call transcript — caught by the second agent before release
demo19of 30 daysto release the GDPR access package: 308 records, 487 cuts, each with its reason
target100%of requests answered inside the legal clock, extensions decided while there is time
In short

What is DSAR Automation?

DSAR Automation finds, reviews and redacts personal data and drafts replies to data subject requests. Eight agents read each request, check identity in proportion to the risk, sweep every connected system, cut other people's data with a reason for each cut, re-check the package independently and draft the reply. The privacy analyst approves every release, the DPO signs extensions and system owners confirm every deletion.

How to choose AI solutions for back-office and enterprise work →

Updated

The problem

Why a subject access request still takes weeks of chasing

Every request starts a clock: one month under GDPR and UK GDPR, 45 days under the California law and the other US state laws, 15 days under Brazil's LGPD. Answering means logging the right and the law, checking identity without asking for more than the risk needs, then emailing a dozen system owners — CRM, HR, support, mail, the data lake, call recordings — and waiting for their exports in a shared drive.

Then the hard part. Which of those records are really hers, and which belong to a namesake in another city? Where is another customer's phone number, or a colleague's opinion, hidden in an email thread or a call transcript? Which emails with outside counsel are privileged? And for a deletion, which records sit under a litigation hold? Release someone else's data and you have a breach of its own; delete under a hold and you have spoliation; miss the clock and you have a complaint to the regulator.

typical$1,524a requestto process a subject rights request by hand
typical567%rise in deletion requests since 2021
Where one request's working hours goestimated
By hand23.5 days
With the solution3.8 days
  • Logging the request, the right, the law and the clock1 → 0.1 d
  • Checking identity and chasing the requester1.5 → 0.2 d
  • Asking each system owner to search, and chasing the exports6 → 0.5 d
  • Sorting out which records are really the requester's5 → 1 d
  • Redacting other people's data and privileged material7 → 1.5 d
  • Writing the reply and keeping the evidence3 → 0.5 d

Estimated split for a typical access request across a dozen systems, by hand and with the solution, in working hours.

How it works

How a request is answered

Eight agents verify, sweep every system, cut and re-check each package; the privacy analyst approves and system owners confirm every deletion.

What comes in
Requests in5 channels · web form, email, phone, letter, agent
Agents at work
Intake agentright, law, clock
Identity verifierin proportion to risk
Then
System sweep agents9 systems in parallel
Then
Redaction agenta reason for every cut
Release checkerindependent re-read
Then
Reply drafterfrom the record of processing
Deletion coordinatorafter the hold check
Clock watcherforecast, extensions
A person decides
Privacy analystapproves with a reason code
What comes out
Package and reply
Deletions verified
Clock met
One case, step by step

One access request, from web form to released

Elena Marchetti, a Climate Services customer in Milan who also applied for a field-engineer job in 2024, disputes an €89 call-out fee. On Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 21:14 she asks Kestrel & Vane Group for all the personal data it holds about her, including call recordings. Here is how Amara Lindqvist and the agents answer it, screen by screen, in the working solution.

  1. 01Wed 14 Oct, 09:40

    Every open request and what only she can move

    Amara Lindqvist · Privacy analyst

    Amara's home screen shows 47 open requests, 6 due in 7 days and none overdue, one forecast to miss with an extension proposed, and 99.6% on time in 2026 — 1,629 of 1,636 closed. Above the table sit the six things that need her today: an approval, an extension, a duplicate, a phone check, a refusal waiting for the DPO and 38 deletions waiting for a system owner.

    “DSR-4417 is ready for the release check and your approval · Elena Marchetti · GDPR access · 312 records, 486 cuts · day 19 of 30.”

  2. 02Day 0 to day 19

    One request, swept across every system, under its clock

    Identity verifier and system sweep agents

    The clock runs across the top: received and verified on day 0, swept on day 3, reviewed on day 17, due Sun 25 Oct. Identity was checked at the Standard tier — signed-in portal session, email on file, customer number — with no ID document asked. On Mon 28 Sep, 09:02–11:41, one sweep agent per system searched all nine read-only: 41 records in the customer CRM, 9 in HR and recruiting, 63 in support tickets, 118 in mail and chat, 52 in the data lake, 29 call recordings. Billing, Marketing and Field service had nothing.

    “No ID document asked: an access request from a signed-in customer, with no special-category data in scope. Rule ID-2.”

  3. 03Look-alikes

    Records that only resemble her wait for a person

    System sweep agents

    Every hit is scored against the verified identity. Below 0.80 a record is parked with its reason, not returned: 23 across the systems. In the CRM there are six — another Elena Marchetti in Turin, born 1971 (0.41); an Elena Marchettini in Milan (0.36); an E. Marchetti in the same building with a different first name on the contract (0.52); and the second contact on her own account, her spouse (0.63).

    “Below 0.80 a record is parked with its reason; it is never released unless a person includes it, with a reason.”

  4. 0428 Sep to 12 Oct

    Every cut with a reason, the privileged emails withheld

    Redaction agent, legal counsel and the reply drafter

    The redaction agent made 486 cuts in 70 records, each with its one-line reason and rule: other customers, staff below director, other job candidates, security information and quoted legal advice. Four records are withheld in full — three emails carrying outside counsel's advice on her disputed fee, confirmed as privileged by Margaret Chen-Ellis on 12 Oct, and an account-protection rule applied to her log-ins. The reply drafter wrote the letter in Italian and English, each section citing where it came from.

    Found while drafting: “Her 2024 recruiting file is 19 months past its retention (RS-22: 6 months after the reserve list closed in Sep 2024). The reply says so and offers deletion.”

  5. 05Day 19 · one click

    A second agent re-reads the package, another way

    Release checker

    Amara runs the release check. A second agent, with no access to the first agent's notes, re-reads all 308 records from scratch, looking where first passes miss: numbers spoken in transcripts, attachments, text in images, file metadata. A minute later it blocks the release with one finding, in call transcript CR-26-0918 from 11 Mar 2026.

    “1 finding blocks the release.” The release checker cannot release; it can only block with a finding.

  6. 06The finding

    Another customer's number, read out in words

    Amara Lindqvist · Privacy analyst

    In the transcript the contact-centre agent offers to ring back on “zero two, five five five zero, one eight four seven” — the callback number on the Bianchi account, another customer, not Elena's. The first pass looked for digits. The release checker proposes a cut under RD-01, other customer, with 0.98 confidence. Amara opens the record and reads it in place.

  7. 0709:42–09:43

    She accepts the cut and signs with a reason code

    Amara Lindqvist · Privacy analyst

    One click accepts the cut: 487 cuts in 71 records, release unblocked. The approval shows what she is signing — 308 records in 6 folders, 4 withheld, the release check passed with 1 resolved, the reply in Italian and English, delivery by secure portal for 30 days. She picks R1, “Complete, checked, released”, and her note goes on the record.

    “Signing as Amara Lindqvist · Privacy analyst, Dublin · signature, time and reason go on the audit trail.”

  8. 08Released · day 19 of 30

    Released with 11 days to spare

    Reply drafter

    The package goes to Elena through the secure portal, with the opening code sent by SMS to the phone on file and a link valid 30 days. The clock bar turns green at day 19, and every step — the plan, the sweep, the match, the cuts, the privilege, Amara's review, the release check, the accepted cut and the release — is on the request with who did it and when.

    “Released on day 19 of 30 · 308 records, 487 cuts in 71 records, 4 withheld. Signed by Amara Lindqvist, reason R1.”

  9. 09Meanwhile · deletions

    Nothing is erased until the owner checks the holds

    Rafael Ortiz · CRM platform owner

    Jonas Albrecht in Munich asked for erasure under GDPR Art. 17. Of his 108 records, the deletion coordinator plans 90 to delete and 18 to keep: 6 CRM records under legal hold H-2026-014, a warranty dispute at the Munich Regional Court, and 12 billing records kept 10 years under German commercial and tax law. Rafael ticks that he checked the legal holds register and that no other duty applies, then confirms. The coordinator deletes, searches again to prove nothing is left, and tells the three recipients under Art. 19.

    “Rafael Ortiz, the deletion coordinator asks you to delete 38 records about Jonas Albrecht in Customer CRM, and keep 6.”

  10. 10Before the first month ends

    An extension proposed while there is time to tell him

    Henrietta Vos · Group Data Protection Officer

    Declan Murray, a former employee in Leeds, asked for his data under UK GDPR: 3,352 items, including 2,940 emails in 41 mailboxes and threads with 214 other employees in them, 46 under an employment tribunal hold. The clock watcher forecasts the finish on 18 Nov, after the 30 Oct due date, and proposes 30 Dec with the reasons and a drafted notice. Henrietta reads them and decides; only she can sign the extension.

    “Forecast: the redaction agent has read 1,180 of 3,125 mail items; 1,945 are left, and review clears about 56 a day after legal review → 18 Nov.”

Who it’s for

Built for everyone who answers a request.

The same requests, seen by the five people who carry them — what their month looked like, and what it looks like now.

AL
Amara LindqvistPrivacy analyst · group privacy office, Dublin
Privacy analyst
Before
“I don't need more search results. I need to know which ones are really hers and what I must cut.” Works 40–50 open requests across a dozen laws and chases system owners by email.
Now
Opens one request as a sweep: every system's records, the look-alikes parked, every cut with its reason and a second agent's check — then approves with a reason code.
HV
Henrietta VosGroup Data Protection Officer · signs extensions and refusals
Data Protection Officer
Before
“If the regulator asks why we took 60 days, I want the reason written down on day 20, not invented on day 61.”
Now
Gets each extension proposed before the first month ends, with the complexity reasons, the forecast and the notice drafted — and signs it, or doesn't.
RO
Rafael OrtizCRM platform owner · confirms every deletion in his system
System owner
Before
“Tell me exactly what to delete, show me nothing is on hold, and I'll press the button.” Gets search and deletion tickets on top of his day job.
Now
Sees the records to delete and to keep, the hold that covers the kept ones, and confirms; the deletion is verified by a second search.
KA
Kwame AsanteCustomer care lead · Climate Services
Customer service lead
Before
“My team should log a request in one minute and tell a caller where it stands without seeing their file.”
Now
Logs a request from a call; the intake agent reads the right, the law and the clock, and a status look-up shows stage and due date only.
MC
Margaret Chen-EllisSenior legal counsel, disputes · keeps the legal holds register
Legal counsel
Before
“A hold is a hold. Nothing under it is deleted, and privileged advice never leaves.”
Now
Confirms privilege on the emails the redaction agent proposes to withhold, and her holds stop deletions until a system owner has checked them.
Built on the engine

8 agents. Each with one job, and hard limits.

Eight agents verify, sweep every system, cut and re-check each package; the privacy analyst approves and system owners confirm every deletion.

Intake agent

Reads web forms, emails, call notes and letters; decides the right, the law and the clock; finds identity points and duplicates; sends the acknowledgement.

  • Never rejects or closes a request
  • Never decides an exemption
  • Below 0.85 confidence it hands to an analyst
Identity verifier

Chooses the lightest identity check that fits the risk — signed-in session, email or SMS code, signed permission for an authorised agent — runs it and writes down why.

  • Never asks for an ID document unless the tier needs it
  • Never stores a copy of one
System sweep agents

One per connected system, searching in parallel with the verified identifiers, scoring every record against the identity and parking look-alikes with a reason.

  • Read-only
  • Never search outside the scope
  • Never include a record below 0.80 match
Redaction agent

Cuts other people's data, privileged and exempt material, and explains each cut in one line with its rule.

  • Never withholds a whole record without an exemption
  • Never cuts the requester's own data
Release checker

Re-reads each final package from scratch, another way: spoken numbers, attachments, text in images, file metadata.

  • Cannot release — it can only block with a finding
  • Never sees the first agent's notes
Reply drafter

Writes the reply with purposes, recipients, retention, source and rights from the record of processing, in the requester's language.

  • Never states a recipient or retention period that is not in the record
Deletion coordinator

Plans deletion and correction per system and record, checks holds and retention duties, sends owners their tasks, verifies by searching again and tells recipients.

  • Never deletes before the system owner confirms
  • Never deletes held records
Clock watcher

Tracks every clock, forecasts the finish from the work left, proposes an extension with reasons in time, and reminds.

  • Never extends on its own
  • Never lets a notice go after the first month
Privacy analyst

Approves; DPO extends; owners delete. The agents propose; a named person decides.

Ask in plain words

Ask about any request, in plain words

Ask about any request, record or deadline — or say what to do next. Every answer points to its source and opens the screen it came from.

What is left before DSR-4417 can go?

Two steps. The package is ready: 308 records from 6 systems, 486 cuts in 70 records, 4 withheld under legal privilege and security. First run the release check, the second agent's independent read; then approve with a reason code. It is day 19 of 30; due Sun 25 Oct.

Which requests could miss their deadline?

One: DSR-4398, Declan Murray, UK GDPR access. 3,352 items; at today's review pace the forecast finish is 18 Nov, after the due date of 30 Oct. The clock watcher has proposed an extension to 30 Dec with the reasons; the notice must reach him by 30 Oct. Six are due within 7 days, all on track.

Why was the Bianchi number cut?

In call transcript CR-26-0918 (11 Mar 2026) the agent read out a callback number in words — “zero two, five five five zero, one eight four seven”. It belongs to the Bianchi account, another customer, not to Elena Marchetti. The first pass looked for digits; the release checker reads spoken numbers. Rule RD-01, other customer.

Delete Jonas Albrecht's data now

Not all of it. 90 of his 108 records can go. 6 CRM records are under legal hold H-2026-014 (warranty dispute, Munich) and 12 billing records must be kept 10 years by German commercial and tax law. The 38 CRM deletions wait for Rafael Ortiz to confirm the hold check.

Every screen

The working solution, as it ships.

13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.

Data subject requestsEvery open request with its law, stage, clock and forecast, the six things that need the analyst today, and on-time performance for the year.
The system sweepOne request across every connected system: records found, look-alikes parked, match to identity, cuts and a live redaction preview, under the statutory clock.
Look-alikes parkedRecords that only resemble the requester, each with its match score and reason, included only by a person with a reason.
The release checkA second, independent agent re-reads the package and blocks the release with a finding, shown in the transcript where it hides.
Review cutsThe record with every cut and its reason, the release-check finding to accept, cuts by reason and the withheld records.
Approve and releaseWhat the analyst signs — package, cuts, withheld, release check, reply and delivery — with a reason code and a note for the record.
Released inside the clockThe request released on day 19 of 30, with every agent and person step and its time.
The replyThe Article 15 reply in Italian or English, each section cited to the record of processing, the package contents and delivery.
IntakeRequests by web form, email, phone, letter and authorised agent, with the right, law, clock and confidence the intake agent read.
Deletions and the hold checkThe system owner confirms the legal-hold check before anything is erased; held and retained records are kept with their rule.
Clocks and extensionsEvery open request against its legal clock with the forecast finish, and an extension proposed with reasons for the DPO to sign.
Audit trailEvery action by a person or an agent, chained by fingerprint, with a check of the chain and an evidence pack per request.
Your rulesLaws and clocks, identity tiers, systems, redaction rules, roles and notifications — versioned, approved by the DPO.
Governance

Built for the regulator's question: cited, checked, signed.

Every record and every cut cites its sourceEach record found carries its system, record number and match score; each cut carries its rule and a one-line reason; each section of the reply cites the record of processing or the retention schedule.
A named person decides and signsThe privacy analyst approves every package with a reason code (R1–R4), the DPO signs extensions and refusals, legal counsel confirms privilege and owns holds, and a system owner confirms every deletion.
No one signs what they preparedFour-eyes is enforced: an approver cannot sign an item they prepared, so an extension the analyst drafted goes to the DPO.
A second agent can block the releaseThe release checker re-reads every package independently, and while it has an open finding the Approve button stays closed.
Read-only sweeps, holds respectedSweeps only read. Deletion writes only after the system owner confirms the legal-hold check, held records are never deleted, and no copy of an ID document is ever stored.
A chained audit trail and an evidence packEvery person and agent action is on the audit trail, each entry carrying the fingerprint of the one before so none can be changed unseen; one click exports a request's evidence pack.
Configuration

Your laws, tiers and rules, not ours

The rules the agents work to are settings. Every change is a new version, and the DPO approves it before it goes live.

SettingDefaultChoose from
GDPR and UK GDPR clockOne month, two further months to extendSet per law: GDPR, UK GDPR, Swiss FADP, CCPA, Virginia, Colorado, Texas, Oregon, Indiana, LGPD
CCPA and US state clocks45 days, 45 more days; acknowledge within 10 business daysAnswer within, extension, acknowledge within and reminders, per law
Reminders7 and 3 days leftSet per law
Identity tiersStandard (ID-2), Enhanced (ID-4), Authorised agent (ID-6), Special category (ID-8)Each tier in use or not
ID documentsNever asked unless the Enhanced check fails; never storedOn · off
Redaction rulesRD-01 other customer, RD-02 staff, RD-03 other candidate, RD-05 security, EX-01 legal privilegeEach rule on or off · RD-04 directors' names off by default
Look-alike threshold0.80A slider: below it a record is parked, not included
Release check before any releaseMust pass; cuts burned into the filesOn · off
Connections

Works with the systems a person's data already lives in

Request channelsweb form, email, phone, letter and authorised agents
Customer CRM and billingaccounts, contacts, invoices, marketing and field service
HR and recruitingemployee records, applications and interview notes
Support, mail and chatticket threads, mailboxes and team chat
Data lake and call recordingsservice and app data, call transcripts
Holds and the record of processinglegal holds register, retention schedule, purposes and recipients
What it changes

The difference, in numbers.

Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.

target
100%
of requests answered inside the legal clock
Released on day 19
of a one-month GDPR clock
target
0
other people's records released, every package re-read by a second agent
typical
$1,524
per request by hand today; target under $400
By hand$1,524
With agents< $400

“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (Gartner, Market Guide for Subject Rights Request Automation, 2023 — $1,524 a request by hand; Data Privacy Trends 2025, an industry survey — deletion requests up 567% since 2021). Clocks: GDPR Art. 12(3); Cal. Code Regs. tit. 11 § 7021; LGPD Art. 19. People, companies and requests named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.

Questions

What privacy teams ask us.

What is DSAR Automation?

DSAR Automation finds, reviews and redacts personal data and drafts replies to data subject requests. Eight agents read each request, check identity in proportion to the risk, sweep every connected system, cut other people's data with a reason for each cut, re-check the package independently and draft the reply. The privacy analyst approves every release, the DPO signs extensions and system owners confirm every deletion.

How does it verify identity without asking for a passport?

The identity verifier picks the lightest check that is enough for the risk — a signed-in portal session or a code to the email on file for ordinary access, a one-time code to the phone on file for a deletion from an unknown email, signed permission for an authorised agent — and writes down why. It never asks for an ID document unless the tier needs it, and never stores one.

How does it stop other people's data from being released?

Sweep agents park records that only resemble the requester, below a 0.80 match score, for a person to decide. The redaction agent cuts other customers', staff and candidates' data with its rule. Then a second agent re-reads the whole package another way — spoken numbers, attachments, text in images, metadata — and can block the release until the analyst resolves its finding.

Does it handle deletion requests and legal holds?

Yes. The deletion coordinator splits every record into delete or keep, with the hold or retention duty that keeps it, and sends the system owner a task. Nothing is erased until the owner confirms the legal-hold check; afterwards the system is searched again to prove nothing is left, and each recipient is told under GDPR Article 19.

How does it keep the GDPR, CCPA and LGPD deadlines?

The intake agent sets the clock from the right and the law — one month under GDPR, 45 days under the US state laws, 15 days under LGPD. The clock watcher forecasts each finish from the work left and proposes an extension with its reasons before the first period ends, so the DPO can sign it and the notice reaches the person in time.

Do people stay in control?

Yes. The agents never reject or close a request, decide an exemption, extend a clock or delete on their own. The privacy analyst approves every package with a reason code, the DPO signs extensions and refusals, legal counsel confirms privilege, system owners confirm deletions, and no one signs what they prepared.

Can we set our own laws, identity tiers and redaction rules?

Yes. Laws and clocks, identity tiers, connected systems and their owners, redaction rules, the look-alike threshold, roles and notifications are all settings. Every change is saved as a new version that the DPO approves before it goes live.

How long does it take to go live?

The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your record of processing, retention schedule, holds register and a sample of past requests — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own requests first.

See it on
your requests.

We'll run DSAR Automation on a sample of your own past requests and the systems they touch.