Job compliance-dsar-search-index-for-one-request · revised 12 October 2026
Get a tool, run on your systems, that lists the documents and emails mentioning one person
For one subject access request, an index of candidate documents and emails that mention the named person, built by a tool you run on your own systems. We never see the content.
You might be seeing
- A request names a person and nobody knows where to start searching
- Searches of each system give different results and nobody recorded what was tried
No passwords, keys, card details or admin invites needed to start.
What usually happened
A subject access request needs a search that is reasonable and proportionate, and a record of what was searched. By hand it means opening several systems one by one and writing down what was tried. Missing a source or a spelling variant is easy, and the search record is what the company relies on later.
Who it’s for: Handler of a live subject access request who has to find every document and email that mentions one person.
Usually starts when: A subject access request has arrived and the search across mailboxes and shared drives will take days by hand.
The result: Your handler gets a search tool and an index format, tested by us on synthetic mailboxes and documents. The handler runs it in your environment for one named person and gets an index: source, date, location and a snippet hash for each candidate item, plus a run log and a list of sources not searched. We never see your content.
Check whether this job fits
Answer these without sending files or logins. Nothing is submitted unless you choose to contact us.
Checks you can run yourself
List where one name might appear
Write down every mailbox, drive, chat and CRM where a customer's name could appear.
Look for: How many places. Each one is a source the search record must show was searched or not.
What you get
- The search tool and run steps
- The index format and run log
- The test results on synthetic data
Included
- A search tool and index format built and tested by us on synthetic mailboxes and documents
- Your handler runs it in your own environment against up to 5 sources for one named person
- Name variants and aliases proposed for your handler to approve before the run
- An index row for each candidate: source, date, location and snippet hash, and a run log
- A list of sources not searched. Matching rules do the search; no language model runs on your content unless you choose to use your own account
Not included
- Reading, redacting or disclosing any item
- Deciding what is personal data, what is exempt or what to disclose
- Running the search for you or seeing your content
- Contacting the requester
- Handling a request tied to a dispute
How we know it’s done
Agreed with you before work starts. Each check produces evidence you keep.
On synthetic mailboxes and documents built by a separate automated checker, with a dummy person planted in 40 of 1,000 items and the planted list held back from the builder until the test run, at least 38 of the 40 are in the index. This is a smoke test on planted cases, not a rate on your real data.
Evidence: The planted list beside the index.
A sample of 30 excluded synthetic items, checked by your handler, contains none that mentions the dummy person.
Evidence: The 30 excluded items and the handler's notes.
Every index row has source, date, location and snippet hash that you or any checker you choose can match to the item, and the run log lists every source and every source not searched.
Evidence: The index and the run log checked on every row.
The tool made no change to any source and sent nothing outside the machine it ran on.
Evidence: File hashes of the sources before and after, and the tool's network log.
Sign-off. Your named handler inspects the test results and the delivered output, and signs off in writing. Payment follows sign-off.
If it fails. If the agreed tests do not pass, you do not pay for this fixed scope. We hand over what we found and agree whether to stop or re-quote; no surprise work.
When it fits, and when we stop
It fits when
- Your handler, or your IT provider, can run a command-line tool in your environment
- Sources are mailboxes or document stores you control and can search
- A named handler reviews every candidate item
We stop and tell you if
- The request is tied to a dispute or a solicitor's letter
- You cannot run a tool in your environment
- You expect about one request a year (a person can search by hand)
What could go wrong
The tool runs on your systems and reads only the sources your handler points it at. It changes nothing in them, so there is nothing to undo. We receive no content and hold no copies.
Scroll the table sideways to read it all.
| Risk | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| The search misses an item that mentions the person | The tool is tested on planted items, your handler checks a sample of excluded items, and the run log shows what was and was not searched. |
| The tool exposes personal data | It runs in your environment, writes snippet hashes rather than content, and sends nothing outside. We never see your content. |
| The index is read as the full response | The page and the guide say the handler reviews every item and decides what to disclose. |
| Your files pass through an AI model provider | No content goes to any model provider: the tool runs on your systems and we test it on synthetic data only. If you choose to run it with your own provider account, that account's terms apply and we never see the content. |
A separate automated reviewer checks the tool, its test results and the index format before it reaches you. Your handler approves the name variants, runs the tool, reviews every candidate and checks a sample of exclusions. No human supervisor is included unless your agreement names one, and at launch the work is largely automated.
How we deliver
We arrange the work and independent review, then show you the result against the agreed checks. You keep authority over your systems.
- Agree the sources, the matching rules, the index format and the pass mark
- Build the tool; a separate checker plants a dummy person in synthetic data
- Run the test and record every missed and false item
- A separate automated reviewer checks the tool reads and writes nothing else
- Hand over the tool and steps; your handler approves the name variants
- Your handler runs it on your systems and checks a sample of exclusions
This is a one-off job, not emergency cover or a subscription. We confirm eligibility, the total price, a start window and a delivery date before you accept. Work starts only after agreed inputs, secure access and any needed permissions are in place. Hosting, supplier and platform charges are excluded unless the written quote includes them. An enquiry creates no charge or booking.
Need to keep it working?
Need help reviewing the candidates? A separate job proposes redactions that your handler accepts or rejects.
Ongoing work is separately scoped and quoted: no monitoring, response-time guarantee or automatic subscription is included in this job.
Explore an ongoing managed lane, or mention the responsibility you need in your enquiry.
What you can check
This is a new service. We have not delivered this job for a client yet.
Other ways to get this done
- Use your mail platform's own search and export tools to find mentions of a name, and keep a written record of the searches you ran.
- Follow the ICO guide to subject access for what a reasonable search looks like. ico.org.uk
Questions
Do you see our emails?
No. The tool runs on your systems. We see at most the run counts you choose to share.
Does the index decide what to disclose?
No. It lists candidates. Your handler reviews every item and decides what to disclose, withhold or redact.
Can it find every mention?
No tool can promise that. It is tested on planted items, and your handler checks a sample of what it left out.
Send an enquiry
Send us
- Which systems hold mail and documents, and roughly how large
- Who would run the tool
- Whether a request is open now. No real names, requests or content in the first enquiry
Later, once you agree
- A description of each source and how it can be searched or exported
- Permission and time for your handler or IT provider to run the tool
- A named handler
You keep all content and every decision. We build and test the tool on synthetic data, and your handler runs it on your systems. We receive at most the run summary counts you choose to share, never the content.
Email fallback: open your mail app
If website submission is unavailable, review and send the fallback email yourself. An email fallback is not a website receipt. Or write to hello@syntheticindustry.ai with “compliance-dsar-search-index-for-one-request” as the subject.