The Top-Rated DSAR Software Solutions

Nobody likes a deadline.

They’re stressful enough when they’re for a homework assignment or work project. But when missing a deadline or messing up a deliverable puts you on the hook for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, generates bad press, and upsets your customers, it’s enough to turn your hair grey prematurely. Small wonder people look to software solutions to assist fulfilling data subject access requests (DSARs).

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and other data privacy laws data subjects have the right to make requests about what data you collect from them, how it's being used, who you share it with, and how long you will keep it.

These laws give the individuals you collect data from (called data subjects) certain rights. When they exercise those rights, they’re known as a DSAR, and businesses are obligated to do as the data subject asks–and to do so by a certain deadline. Software like Osano's automates the management of these requests to help organizations fulfill DSARs without errors and on time.

Not all data subject access request (DSAR) software is made equal; some solutions will be better or worse than others, or better or worse for certain businesses. In this article, we'll be exploring the top five DSAR solutions in the market today. But first, let’s cover some DSAR basics.

Quick Facts About DSARs

What Features Should You Look For in DSAR Management Software?

With financial penalties and brand reputation on the line, choosing the right DSAR management software is crucial–but that’s easier said than done.

When evaluating solutions, you’ll want to keep an eye out for key features that will expedite compliance and reduce the risk of error. In particular, this includes a data mapping/inventorying feature that allows you to discover where data subjects’ personal information is located as well as integrations and connectors for the tools and systems where you store personal data. There are separate, generic data discovery tools that can help with this, but investing in a comprehensive compliance solution tailored for data privacy and DSAR use cases specifically will make compliance easier.

Other DSAR software features and capabilities to look out for include:

• Compliant intake forms
• DSAR workflow automation, such as deadline tracking, notifications, data subject response templates, and similar tools to streamline the workflow.
• DSAR fulfillment automation, such as automating summary or deletion requests (just be sure to keep a human in the loop to ensure accuracy)
• Geofencing and localization to ensure the correct request type for that jurisdiction can be accessed
• Secure messaging portals to communicate with data subjects and share files
• Automatic audit trail generation should a regulator come calling

Streamline Your DSAR Process with These Top 5 DSAR Software Solutions

5. Ketch

Promising to save stakeholders from manual request fulfillment, Ketch's software is part of its comprehensive privacy compliance platform. With its drag-and-drop workflow designer, intelligent workflow and decision-making processes, and pre-built connector library, Ketch facilitates privacy tasks for mid-market businesses.

Key Features

• Custom DSAR workflows to align with mid-market organization’s’ processes
• Pre-built integration library
• Open APIs and webhooks to support unique data privacy scenarios

Advantages & Disadvantages

✔️ Customers report receiving excellent customer service

✔️ Its setup is straightforward

✔️ No coding is required

❌ Fully automated DSAR capabilities are only available on the top tier

❌ Interface is not intuitive for everyone

❌ Requires regulatory monitoring and adjustments for each jurisdiction to stay in compliance

❌ Customers report integrations are harder to set up than they were led to believe

4. TrustArc

The TrustArc privacy management platform manages subject rights requests across global jurisdictions and helps simplify and streamline the time-consuming processes of managing DSARs. Called the Individual Rights Manager, TrustArc’s DSAR solution automates rights request management at scale.

Key Features

• Compliance reporting and cross-departmental workflow management
• A secure portal for individuals to submit requests and receive their personal data
• Data mapping/inventory integration streamlines retrieval of personal information for DSAR fulfillment

Advantages & Disadvantages

✔️ High praise for account and implementation managers

✔️ Feature-rich interface with robust compliance tools

✔️ Suitable option for large businesses

❌ Pricing plans are likely a barrier to entry for SMBs

❌ Platform complexity makes it difficult to learn, limiting the utility of its broad feature set.

❌ Requires dedicated privacy team to operate

3. OneTrust

Compared to the other solutions on this list, OneTrust is more of an enterprise-grade compliance solution rather than a DSAR-specific, or even data privacy-specific solution. For some organizations with complicated compliance burdens including DSARs, this is an advantage; for most, it’s overkill that makes DSAR fulfillment harder. . OneTrust offers a range of DSAR automation features to help them streamline each stage of the fulfillment process and maintain compliance, such as ID verification, data retrieval and deletion, legal hold checks, and data redaction.

Key Features

• Broad integration with numerous enterprise systems, like ServiceNow, Snowflake, and Microsoft Purview
• Detailed reporting features that offer insights into DSAR trends and metrics
• Data discovery and classification across structured databases, unstructured files, and cloud storage to support DSAR fulfillment across complex data environments

Advantages & Disadvantages

✔️ Provides real-time access to news and updates about data privacy regulations around the world

✔️ Wide feature set supplements DSAR management for organizations with broad privacy, security, and compliance needs

✔️ Offers the broadest automation and integration capabilities in the market

❌ Steep learning curve that may be intimidating for data privacy beginners

❌ Pricing options may not be friendly for smaller businesses and come with unpredictable, high renewal fees

❌ Users commonly complain they never get OneTrust fully implemented and often require additional consulting hours to do so

2. DataGrail

DataGrail’s Request Manager is its dedicated DSAR fulfillment product and the most mature product in its platform. Request Manage handles the full spectrum of data subject rights requests from intake to delivery.

Key Features

• Intuitive self-service DSAR portal with clear integration documentation, consistently characterized as easy to use
• AI-powered Live Data Map that automatically discovers and maps personal data across the tech stack, reducing manual searches during DSAR fulfillment
• Its Smart Verification™ feature uses pre-existing data to authenticate user identities.

Advantages & Disadvantages

✔️ AI-powered data mapping significantly reduces time required to fulfill DSARs

✔️ Hundreds of integrations

✔️ Highly rated customer service

❌ Users have noted that the lack of API connectors limits automation; integrations amount to sending notification emails to data store owners

❌ Pricing is opaque and scales steeply with volume and integrations

❌ Customers note that onboarding and implementation is complex and time-consuming

1. Osano

Osano’s DSAR software centralizes, automates, and streamlines the end-to-end process of handling DSARs. The platform ties together data discovery, request intake, verification, and delivery into a single, auditable workflow that's easy to navigate for all stakeholders involved. Teams that face high volumes of DSARs and seek to scale without sacrificing accuracy or compliance will benefit from Osano's comprehensive platform that covers:

• Cookie consent
• Subject rights management
• Assessment management
• Data mapping
• Vendor privacy risk management
• And more

Key Features

• Request forms are customizable to fit brand standards
• Current regulatory best practices are baked into the platform, reducing the need for teams to track, interpret, and operationalize legal requirements themselves
• Osano Compliance Check validates DSAR intake options across your domains
• Its extensive library of pre-built forms and templates makes it easy for teams to get started
• Guided workflows and automated actions optimize request management
• Regulatory requirements like deadlines and rights request types are automatically assigned based on the individual's location
• Requests from outside of regulated regions are automatically rejected for simplicity or optionally permitted for a consistent user experience
• Communication between data subjects is efficient and secure thanks to its integrated messaging platform
• Customers consistently rate support as responsive and high quality
• Transparent pricing without surprise renewal hikes
• The reporting dashboard allows teams to easily view request trends, statistics, and other important data

What makes Osano’s DSAR approach stand out is its unique “No Fines, No Penalties” Guarantee, which demonstrates the company's confidence in the platform and its commitment to ensuring regulatory compliance.

Simplify Data Subject Access Requests with Osano

Meet with our team and book a demo, or take a product tour to see how Osano can help you launch, integrate and automate your subject rights process.

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