Thousands of dollars. Dozens of hours. One poorly handled DSAR can bring both. Legal and compliance teams are overwhelmed; not because DSARs are new, but because responding to them quickly, accurately, and securely has never been more complex.
Personal data is scattered across emails, chat platforms, cloud storage, and more. Deadlines are tight. Stakes are high. One missed detail, and the cost isn't just financial, it's reputational.
This article breaks down how to take control with the right tools, not more headcount. If you're ready to cut through the chaos, stick around. You're about to get practical, proven solutions for mastering DSAR.
The Rising DSAR Burden
Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) have grown from occasional, manageable tasks to a steady stream of high-stakes demands. Organizations are dealing with a sharp rise in volume, and the requests themselves are often complex. What used to be a one-off compliance task now often feels more like an ongoing litigation response.
Regulations like GDPR started this trend, but CCPA, CPRA, and other laws are piling on. Each one gives individuals more or less the same thing: stronger data subject access rights and faster, clearer access to their personal information. That's good news for individuals, yet it's creating real operational pressure for legal and compliance teams.
Manually responding to these requests? It tends to be inefficient, often expensive, and very prone to error. What slows things down most is that the personal data being requested isn't sitting in one easy-to-search location. It's scattered.
Some places organizations now must pull from:
- Slack conversations and shared files
- Microsoft Teams messages and meeting recordings
- Email archives and shared drives
- Zoom chat logs and recordings
- CRM, HR, and finance platforms
Why DSARs Mirror eDiscovery Workflows
DSARs aren't totally unique. In fact, they're pretty similar to what legal teams already know from eDiscovery. The basic steps are the same: identify relevant data, collect it, process it, review it for sensitivity, and then produce it in a usable form.
That means using eDiscovery technology for DSAR response isn't just logical; it's smart.
What changes is the requester. Instead of responding to a regulator or opposing counsel, you're replying to an individual. Still, the expectations are no lower.
Using dedicated eDiscovery solutions for DSAR work solves several problems at once. Everything happens in one place, which means no hopping between tools or exporting data back and forth. That helps reduce the risk of data leaks or accidental disclosure.
Centralized platforms like Reveal support every phase of the process. For example, if a request involves multiple custodians and systems, Reveal can collect, process, and sort that data fast, all while flagging high-risk content like PII.
Speed to Insight
Once you get a DSAR, the clock starts ticking. There's no time to manually dig through drives, download files from every platform, or search email inboxes one by one. This is where data connectors like those built into Reveal are extremely useful.
You can connect to major platforms directly:
- Microsoft 365
- Google Vault
- Slack
- Teams
- Box, Dropbox, and more
By pulling data directly, rather than relying on exports, you avoid delays and gain instant visibility. That matters, especially when you're juggling dozens of active requests. After that, Early Case Assessment (ECA) tools help shrink the data set before it even hits review.
For example, if someone requests only their email communication with the HR department, you can apply filters by date, sender, recipient, and content. Then you can apply culling strategies that might include:
- Deduplication
- Email threading
- Noise-word filters
- Known file exclusion
If you're using Reveal's AI to do this, you'll usually get to relevant content much faster than relying on manual sort-and-search. In fact, Reveal uses AI models that can "understand" the context of language, not just keywords, reducing irrelevant hits that slow teams down.
That kind of automation feeds directly into compliance automation goals. You're doing more with less. And importantly, you're reducing human review costs, which can be the most expensive part of DSAR response.
Smarter Review with PII Identification and Redaction
Once you've processed and culled the data, the next task is review. That is where many teams fall behind. The reason? Manually spotting and redacting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is slow and full of risk.
Using a standard keyword search might find names and emails, sure. But what about addresses, account numbers, or informal identifiers? Reveal's AI understands the context of data, so it flags personal information even when phrased differently.
In the same way, redactions aren't just about hiding data. They must be consistent, trackable, and reversible if needed. That's hard to do in basic redaction tools.
With Reveal, reviewers can tag, redact, and batch apply redactions automatically across similar documents.
Seamless Delivery and Demonstrable Compliance
After review comes delivery. That might sound like a minor task, yet it's another place where things go sideways. Files need to be clean, well-organized, and easy for a non-technical user to access.
Some organizations send zip folders. Others use secure portals. Either way, it should feel smooth on both ends. With Reveal, you can produce responses in multiple formats, all while keeping logs of what went out, when, and to whom.
DSAR response, in some respects, is as much about documentation as it is about data. You need to prove you met your obligations. That includes:
- When the request came in
- Who was involved in the review
- What data was included in the final response
- How the request was fulfilled
- What steps were taken to protect others' privacy
These aren't just "nice to have" records. You might be asked for them by regulators or internal audit teams. That's why Reveal includes full audit trail capabilities. You can log every touchpoint in the process and pull reports with a few clicks.
Take Back Control of DSAR Chaos
Handling DSARs doesn't need to drain your time, team, or budget. This article showed how eDiscovery technology and smart automation can simplify every step, from data identification to redaction and response.
Reveal helps legal and compliance teams respond to DSARs fast, securely, and without extra overhead. Our platform is packed with unique features like built-in PII detection, customizable AI models, and blazing-fast search across all data sources. It's powerful, flexible, and ready to scale.
Schedule a demo today and see how Reveal turns DSAR chaos into clean, controlled execution.
