When you send a request in Permission Slip it may seem like magic – but really, there’s a whole lot going on behind the scenes.
The fearless leader of the Permission Slip “agent team” is Ann Marie Carrothers. Ann Marie joined CR in 2021 when Permission Slip was just a glimmer in our eyes. Now, not even two years later, she has led the processing of a whopping one million data rights requests on behalf of Permission Slip users. Say hello to one of the powerhouse agents who makes it all happen!
Tara: Tell me about a day in the life as an authorized agent? There aren’t many people with our job in the world right now, give us a glimpse into the workday of the folks making our digital world a safer place.
Ann Marie: When I explain to people what I do they get a glassy eye expression because most people in the world don’t know a position like this exists. It’s actually really relaxing work, which is rare. People on paper would think it would be tedious to process requests but so many things in life are tedious, at least this is tedious work for good! Both consumers and companies benefit from people like me, an authorized agent, processing requests because I can be the middleman and talk to both sides. That is the real impact of Permission Slip—our app is changing the prioritization of how these data privacy requests are being both received and processed by companies.
Tara: As someone who has processed a request or two in my day, I know it’s not always an easy process. What are some of your tips and tricks?
Ann Marie: The big one is if I am ever hitting a wall is the reminder of how much of a positive impact Permission Slip is having. Our work has already had an impact on making national privacy, when the CA AG cited Permission Slip last year and gave authorized agents greater authority so that companies could no longer ignore authorized agent requests. and finding something is really difficult to process, the helpful thing to know is that if it’s hard for me, it’s also hard for the company. It’s about how we can work together to make this as simplistic and quick as possible for all parties involved. We’re all struggling here, but also learning how we can make it better for everyone.
Sometimes I’ll go talk to companies and we join the call and they have their whole legal team and are ready to have to legally defend themselves, and that isn’t the goal. People are shocked by our kindness and amiability and like that we know this is hard, but we’re here with solutions. One of our solutions for companies is already quickly gaining popularity:, 30% of our companies are wanting to work with us on the Data Rights Protocol (which you can read about here).
As for consumers, your personal information is much more likely to be exposed by companies you probably aren’t even familiar with, like data brokers that build profiles and sell data without your consent. We’re giving consumers a free tool that is having a huge impact on their data safety and protection, while also helping them learn about the data economy and where it’s important to take action.
Tara: What advice would you give to someone who is exercising their data rights for the first time?
Ann Marie: Wait – the process cant take a long time, and patience is a virtue. Most people have no idea that companies are allowed 45 business days to respond to a data request. As much as we are a culture that is used to immediate gratification, that’s not this.
Also, you have a lot more power than you think you do. Even if companies say in a privacy policy that you need to come from a certain state to use your data rights, the majority of companies will honor data rights for any consumer living in the United States.
Tara: Permission Slip will continue to expand to more companies and therefore more requests. What’s your mantra for the next million?
Ann Marie: I’m really excited about the next million. As much as I am not Pro AI, we’ve begun the process to automate what we can with request processing; we’ve been learning to use LLMs and AI for good. That’s been really exciting. It’s going to help us get through the next million requests a lot faster. I processed 225,000 requests in my first eighteen months working on Permission Slip before we announced the app publicly . Then with the official launch of the app, I was able to process 800,000 requests in just two months. I’ve quadrupled my productivity rate thanks to all the system and process improvements our team has developed.. I’m excited to get through the next million and move on to the next one after that!
Thank you for answering our questions Ann Marie! Your dedication makes Permission Slip the app it is, and we’re so happy you’re on our side. Readers, you can send your first request and start reclaiming your data by downloading Permission Slip on your mobile device today.
