What stays out
You draw the line. Your originals stay behind it.
Plain answers on the points owners raise first: originals, passwords, the sample, placeholders, the NDA and cost.
See my estimateWhat owners ask before replying
- Is there a cost?
- Nothing at all. It is free for you, and an estimate does not obligate you.
- What happens to names?
- Names and identifiers are replaced with placeholders: people, clients, companies, addresses and account numbers.
- Is the process under NDA?
- Yes. An NDA is in place from the very start.
- Do the original records move anywhere?
- No. Originals never leave your systems. License Your Data prepares a de-identified copy of what is in scope.
- Can we leave things out?
- Yes. Hold back whichever system, folder, client or matter you like, no explanation required.
- Will we be asked for passwords?
- No. Nobody asks for, or receives, a password or login.
- Is there a check before release?
- Yes. Until you approve a sample of the prepared copy, nothing goes out.
How placeholders work
De-identification replaces anything that points to a person or account, like names, email addresses, phone numbers and account numbers, with placeholders. The work itself is what is left, meaning the requests, the steps and the decisions.
Before approving, you review the outcome in the sample. Any record you are not happy with after cleaning can simply be left out.
Always excluded
- Client records of law and accounting practices.
- Patient records held by healthcare providers.
- Customer account data at financial firms, and policyholder data at insurers.
- Anything you have not approved.
Your call to leave out
Exclusions can cover a department, a mailbox, a folder, a client, a matter, a date range or a full system. There is nothing to justify. If you are unsure about a set of records, leaving it out is always an option.
A common approach is to start small with a system or two, then broaden scope after reviewing the sample.
For regulated practices
Law, accounting and healthcare practices decide scope with us together with their counsel, and client or patient data stays out. We give no legal advice, and we never tell a practice that licensing is permitted for it.
Your information on this site
We use what you enter in the estimate form to prepare your estimate and to contact you about it. The Privacy Policy covers it in full, and the Do not sell or share page lets you opt out.