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yourdatapays

Privacy & trust

Protecting your people comes first

Here's how this gets done responsibly, and when we'll tell you not to do it at all.

De-identification

How de-identification works

Before anything is delivered, personal information is removed or replaced. That covers names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, account numbers and logins. Sensitive categories like health, finance and HR details are taken out entirely. Good providers pair automated detection with human review, and they test whether anyone could be re-identified. No method is perfect, so if something is too sensitive to risk, leave it out of scope.

What you control

  • Scope: which systems, which years, and what's excluded
  • Recipient and use: who gets the data and what they can use it for
  • Exclusivity and term: whether you can license it again, and for how long
  • Final approval: many providers show you what was removed before delivery and let you object

Licensing vs selling

Treat the decision as permanent

Most arrangements are licenses. You keep your records and give a buyer the right to use a cleaned copy under set terms. Some deals are outright purchases of a copy, and some licenses are permanent, so read the terms carefully. Either way, once a system has been trained on data, that can't realistically be undone. Treat the decision as permanent.

Your counsel

Talk to your own lawyer

We're not a law firm and don't give legal advice. Before you sign, have your own attorney review the agreement. Ask them to look closely at the privacy laws that apply to you, your client contracts and NDAs, your software vendors' terms, and what your past privacy notices promised.

Honest fit

Who shouldn't license their data

We'll tell you honestly if any of these apply to you:

  • You can't confirm you own it. Some software vendors' contracts claim the data their software generates. Some client contracts restrict how it can be used.
  • Your past privacy promises said you wouldn't share. Regulators have warned against quietly rewriting policies after the fact.[4]
  • The records are mostly about individuals, such as HR, health or counseling.
  • Your competitive edge lives in those records, for example a proprietary pricing method.
  • Your team would feel betrayed, and you're not ready to talk with them first.
  • You're in active litigation or under a legal hold that affects those records.

Our conduct

  • We never ask for, receive or hold your data.
  • We don't promise prices, sales or timelines.
  • We tell you how we're paid.
  1. [4]Federal Trade Commission, Feb 13, 2024. https://www.ftc.gov/policy/advocacy-research/tech-at-ftc/2024/02/ai-other-companies-quietly-changing-your-terms-service-could-be-unfair-or-deceptive

Find out what you're sitting on. No cost, no obligation.

Answer five minutes of questions about your systems, and we'll tell you honestly whether there's a fit.

Get a free data assessment