DSAR Software for Privacy Teams - Fewer Manual Hours, No Missed Deadlines
Privacy and DPO teams are drowning in DSAR volume and priced out of the big governance suites. Obtainer is DSAR software for privacy teams that cuts the manual hours per request and tracks every deadline, so a growing queue does not become a missed one.
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Helps you comply, not legal advice
In short
DSAR software for privacy teams is a tool that helps a privacy or DPO function handle the volume of data subject access requests without gathering everything by hand or missing a deadline. Obtainer is built for that team: it intakes each request, finds where the person's data lives across your systems, compiles it into one source-system manifest, drafts a deadline-safe response from templates, and tracks the GDPR one-month and CCPA 45-day deadlines per request. Every response passes a human redaction-and-approval gate, so you stay in control of what is disclosed and nothing goes out automatically. Obtainer helps you comply. It is not legal advice, so exemptions, identity checks, and refusals stay with your team. Unlike suites such as OneTrust (around $10k a year at minimum) or DataGrail (tens of thousands a year) that bundle DSAR into a broad governance platform, Obtainer does DSAR fulfillment only, self-serve from $34/mo with a published price.
Why it fits
Privacy and DPO teams handling rising DSAR volume who want to cut manual hours and track every deadline, without paying for an enterprise governance suite.
Cut the manual hours
Instead of gathering data by hand for every request, Obtainer compiles it into one manifest and drafts the response, so each DSAR takes less of the team's time.
Never lose the deadline
Obtainer tracks the GDPR one-month and CCPA 45-day deadline for every request in the queue, which reduces the risk of a response slipping as volume grows.
Priced for a real team
DSAR fulfillment only, self-serve from $34/mo with a published price, instead of a governance suite that starts in the thousands. Obtainer helps you comply; it is not legal advice.
Reference
Where a privacy team spends its hours on one DSAR, and who owns each step
Most of the time in a data subject access request goes into finding and assembling data, not into the legal judgment the privacy team is actually paid for. This is the usual split of a request, stage by stage, and how it changes with Obtainer in the loop.
| Stage | Who usually does it today | With Obtainer | What stays with your team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intake and logging | A privacy analyst copies an email or web form into a tracker | The request is logged with its state, type and deadline when it arrives | Deciding whether it is a valid request at all |
| Identity verification | Back and forth by email, often unrecorded | The verification step is part of the request record | Judging whether the evidence is enough |
| Data discovery | Tickets to engineering, sales ops and support, then waiting | Obtainer lists where the person's data lives across connected systems | Confirming nothing is missing for systems you know about |
| Compilation | Someone merges exports into one folder or spreadsheet | One source-system manifest with every record and its origin | Reviewing the manifest |
| Redaction | Manual review of every page for third-party data | A human redaction and approval gate before anything leaves | Every redaction decision |
| Drafting the reply | A template edited by hand per state | A draft response from templates for the governing law | Final wording and sign-off |
| Deadline and records | Calendar reminders and a spreadsheet | The deadline tracker and an event log on every request | Extension decisions and appeals |
More use cases
Related features
Questions
Common questions about this
How much does it cost to handle one DSAR manually?
Gartner has put the cost of fulfilling a single data subject access request by hand at roughly $1,400 to $1,524, counting the staff hours across privacy, legal, IT, and the system owners who have to search their own tools. At even a dozen requests a month, that is a six-figure annual line item hidden inside salaries. The number is why tooling tends to pay for itself well before request volume becomes large.
What should DSAR software actually do?
Four things. Intake the request through a channel you control and log the date it arrived, since that starts the clock. Find where the person's personal data lives across your systems instead of relying on memory. Compile what was found into one reviewable manifest with the source system attached to each item. Draft the response and track the statutory deadline. Everything else, including the decision on what to disclose, should stay with a human.
Is DSAR software the same as a privacy governance platform?
No, and the difference matters for budget. Governance suites such as OneTrust and DataGrail bundle consent management, data mapping, vendor risk, and assessments alongside request handling, and they are sold at enterprise contract sizes, roughly $10,000 a year at minimum for OneTrust and tens of thousands for DataGrail. Obtainer does request fulfillment only and publishes its price, from $34 a month. If you need a full governance program, a suite is the right shape. If you need requests closed on time, it is not.
How do we track DSAR deadlines across GDPR and multiple US states?
Track each request against the strictest clock that applies to it, and record the receipt date rather than the date somebody noticed it. GDPR runs one month with a possible two-month extension. Every comprehensive US state law runs 45 days plus a 45-day extension, except Florida, which allows only 15 extra days. CCPA also requires you to confirm receipt within 10 business days. Obtainer stamps the arrival date and tracks the applicable deadline per request so the queue does not quietly age.
Do small privacy teams really need dedicated DSAR software?
It depends on volume and how spread out your data is. A team getting one or two simple requests a month with data in two systems can run a spreadsheet and a shared inbox. The break point tends to be when requests arrive faster than one person can chase them, when data sits in more systems than anyone can list from memory, or when you need to show a consistent, evidenced process to a regulator. At that point manual handling starts costing more in hours than the tooling does.
Run a data subject access request end to end
Obtainer finds where a person's data lives across your systems, compiles it into one manifest, drafts the deadline-safe response, and tracks the GDPR and CCPA clock. You review, redact, and approve what gets disclosed. Helps you comply; not legal advice.