Reading Between the Privacy Lines
When organisations see a rise in access, correction, deletion, or opt-out requests, the first instinct is to consider how to streamline the Privacy Request Process. This is important, but they’re rarely the sole solution.
Most customers don’t wake up one morning eager to file a Privacy Request. They do it when something already feels off. They’re surprised by how much personal information is held, unclear about why it was collected, or uncomfortable with how it’s being used. Sometimes it follows a product change, a shift in marketing activity, or a moment when personalisation crosses from helpful into unsettling and creepy. Privacy Requests then become the mechanism they use to reassert control.
Seen this way, an increase in Privacy Requests is rarely a leading indicator. It’s a lagging one. By the time requests spike, confusion or mistrust has usually been present for some time, just not measured. This is where information about Privacy Requests becomes genuinely useful beyond compliance. Not just as a queue to clear, but as insight into where the customer experience is breaking down. If a reasonable customer would be surprised by your business practices, that surprise will eventually surface somewhere and Privacy Requests is often that location.
Strong privacy operations are essential, but organisations that align with the spirit of the Privacy Act go further. They treat Privacy Requests as feedback, examine the journeys that generate them, and ask whether better explanation, restraint, or trust-building upstream would have prevented the interaction altogether. Handled this way, an increase in Privacy Requests isn’t a failure. It’s an early warning system, and one worth paying attention to.
Now is also a timely moment to review your Privacy Request processes. The upcoming introduction of IPP3A is likely to increase requests from individuals who were previously unaware that your organisation held their information, making customer understanding and transparency more important than ever.