B
Boring DSAR

PII Scanning for DSAR Compliance: How to Find the Data You Need to Disclose

How PII scanning software supports DSAR fulfillment. What to scan, which tools work for small businesses, and how to build scanning into your DSAR workflow.

Last updated: 2026-02-08

Why PII Scanning Matters for DSARs

When you receive a DSAR, you need to find all personal data you hold about the requester. PII scanning software automates the search across files, databases, email, and cloud storage — catching data that manual searches miss.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney for guidance specific to your business.

What PII Scanners Find

PII scanners look for patterns across your systems:

  • Direct identifiers: Names, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses
  • Government IDs: Social Security numbers, passport numbers, driver's license numbers
  • Financial data: Credit card numbers, bank account numbers
  • Health data: Medical record numbers, health information
  • Digital identifiers: IP addresses, device IDs, cookie identifiers

For DSAR purposes, the key capability is searching by individual — finding all data related to a specific person, not just scanning for PII in general.

Two DSAR Use Cases

1. Proactive: Build Your Data Map

Run a full PII scan across your systems before you receive any requests. This tells you where personal data lives so you know where to look when a DSAR arrives.

  • Scan all file shares, cloud storage, databases, and email
  • Classify what was found by system and data type
  • Document the results as your data map
  • Re-scan periodically (quarterly is reasonable)

2. Reactive: Fulfill a Specific Request

When a DSAR arrives, search for the requester's specific identifiers across all systems:

  • Search by name, email, phone number, account ID
  • Include unstructured data (documents, spreadsheets, emails)
  • Export the results for review and redaction
  • Document what was found in each system

Tool Categories

Free / built-in:

  • Google Workspace: Admin console search covers email and Drive
  • Microsoft 365: Compliance Center content search covers email, OneDrive, SharePoint
  • Database queries: SQL searches across your own databases

Open-source:

  • Tools like Presidio (Microsoft) and Piiano can scan text for PII patterns
  • Useful for custom scanning workflows but require technical setup

Commercial (small business):

  • Mine, Ethyca, DataGrail offer DSAR-specific scanning with pre-built connectors
  • Typically $200-500/month for small business tiers

Enterprise:

  • BigID, Spirion, Varonis — comprehensive data discovery platforms
  • $50K+/year, overkill for most small businesses

What to Scan for DSARs

Not all PII scanning needs apply to DSARs. Focus on:

  • Structured data in databases and CRM — usually the easiest to search and export
  • Email — often contains personal data in message bodies and attachments
  • Documents and spreadsheets — exports, reports, and ad hoc files
  • Customer support — tickets and chat logs

Skip (for DSAR purposes):

  • Network traffic scanning
  • Endpoint DLP
  • Code repository scanning

Integrating Scanning into Your DSAR Workflow

  1. Request received → trigger search across all mapped systems
  2. Results compiled → review for completeness and third-party data
  3. Redaction → remove other people's personal data from the results
  4. Response → deliver the data in a portable format

See our data discovery guide for building the full data map, and our DSAR workflow guide for the complete process.

Related Guides