Why manual search for GDPR terms wont work

At first glance, manually searching for sensitive files might seem straightforward—you just type in sensitive terms and review the results. But, speaking from experience, this method comes with major pitfalls. That’s why I strongly recommend looking into specialised tools designed to simplify and strengthen your approach, so you can ensure proper processing of personal data.

I have observed that, for many companies, GDPR compliance appears straightforward: simply type relevant risk terms into a search bar—names, email addresses, passwords—and expect to find and remove sensitive data. Unfortunately, this method – that I call “Simple Search” – rarely catches everything. There are several reasons for this:

• The volume of data: Manually reviewing millions of files is simply unrealistic—it’s slow and doesn’t scale.

• Human factor: Even the most diligent employee can overlook important files or misinterpret what qualifies as sensitive. This makes manual searches incomplete and prone to risk.

• Limited search capabilities: Employees are often unaware of the full range of sensitive terms hidden in their files, making it difficult to know what to even search for.

• Evolving sensitive expressions: Privacy regulations like the GDPR are constantly changing. New risk terms emerge regularly, and every organisation may have its own definitions of what’s considered sensitive.

• Data also hides in images: Sensitive information can be embedded in images, scanned documents, or handwritten notes—reviewing these manually is both time-consuming and impractical.

• Context is everything: Words like “COVID” or “Muslim” are not sensitive on their own, but become so when linked to a person—such as in HR or medical contexts.

• Language and format vary: Sensitive data appears in various formats and languages. A British NiNo number, for example, looks different to a US Social Security number.

In the other corner, you’ll find Advanced Search, which identifies sensitive expressions using a more systematic approach. Advanced Search leverages a combination of sophisticated technologies to efficiently identify sensitive data. Initially, pattern recognition (LM), including regular expressions (RegEx), is applied to accurately detect specific data patterns such as phone numbers and emails. Additionally, the Modulus 11 algorithm is used specifically to validate CPR numbers (personal identification numbers), ensuring correct identification. Advanced language models (LLM) provide contextual understanding, assessing whether data is sensitive based on its context. Finally, Advanced Search incorporates Optical Character Recognition (OCR), enabling the detection and extraction of sensitive information even when hidden in images, screenshots, or scanned PDF documents.

Regarding what Advanced Search specifically targets, it utilizes taxonomies, structured classification systems with predefined categories of sensitive data. More concretely, these taxonomies serve as specialized lists containing GDPR-relevant terms and data types, ensuring precise and consistent identification of all sensitive data across your company’s systems.

This combination of technologies results in a data search that is significantly more comprehensive, precise, and efficient than Simple Search.

Beyond issues related to identifying GDPR terms, there are additional reasons why Simple Search isn’t sustainable for ongoing compliance.

1. No reporting tools
Another downside of simple search is the lack of reporting or documentation tools. When compliance relies solely on manual searches, there’s no easy way to track what’s been found or what’s still lurking undiscovered. Compliance efforts become fragmented, with little accountability or overview, creating potential regulatory nightmares. 

Advanced search, however, offers clear dashboards and reporting features. With these tools, management gains visibility into compliance activities—tracking progress, pinpointing risks, and ensuring everyone stays accountable. This transparency isn’t just reassuring; it’s critical for audits and regulatory checks. Instead of guessing, companies have solid evidence proving compliance efforts are thorough and effective. 

2. The Time Factor
Let’s talk efficiency. Manual searches take countless hours and pull employees away from productive tasks. In contrast, Advanced Search does the heavy lifting of GDPR cleanup, significantly reducing the time it takes. Automated scans run seamlessly in the background and ongoing data monitoring occurs across the entire enterprise. In practice, this means that instead of spending several hours a week manually checking files, minimal time is required to review scan results.

After talking to many companies that use Simple Search, I have learned that it takes an average employee 20 hours per year to find, verify, and delete files with sensitive content at a level that is satisfactory for meeting GDPR requirements. A tool that uses Advanced Search can reduce that time to 1-1.5 hours. Plus, the tool is much more thorough.

3. The lack of proactivity
Perhaps the most crucial advantage of advanced search is its proactive approach to risk management. Basic searches only detect information you’re explicitly searching for. If you don’t know a risk exists, it remains hidden. This blind spot can have severe consequences, from hefty GDPR fines to reputational damage. 

Advanced tools proactively identify risks across the entire data environment, flagging potential threats before they become breaches. For instance, advanced scanners can automatically detect sensitive information—like large numbers of customer emails—stored in insecure locations. This proactive stance lets businesses address vulnerabilities promptly, dramatically lowering compliance risks. 

4. Educating through cleanup
Finally, advanced search offers an unexpected bonus—it educates teams. Instead of compliance feeling like a meaningless chore, employees gain insights into why certain data practices are risky. Advanced tools clearly explain why specific files or locations are flagged, helping staff understand and improve their data management habits. 

Over time, this transforms the company’s culture, creating awareness and a proactive mindset toward data privacy. Employees stop seeing compliance as an annoying task and start embracing it as essential to their roles. 

If your company still relies on manual searches for files containing GDPR terms, you’re almost without a doubt still exposing yourself to significant risks and inefficiencies. Manual searches have critical limitations, with the primary issue being that employees aren’t aware of the sensitive terms stored within their files. Without knowing exactly what terms to search for, it’s impossible to thoroughly ensure data privacy. Even precise searches frequently miss variations of sensitive terms. Additionally, manual methods can’t detect sensitive information hidden in images, scanned PDFs, or screenshots, and many internal systems lack built-in search functions altogether.

At Safe Online, we’ve addressed these challenges by developing DataMapper, which uses advanced search methods to ensure thorough, proactive compliance when identifying and managing sensitive information.