Clay Data Handling

Overview

Handle sensitive data correctly when integrating with Clay.

Prerequisites

•Understanding of GDPR/CCPA requirements
•Clay SDK with data export capabilities
•Database for audit logging
•Scheduled job infrastructure for cleanup

Data Classification

Category	Examples	Handling
PII	Email, name, phone	Encrypt, minimize
Sensitive	API keys, tokens	Never log, rotate
Business	Usage metrics	Aggregate when possible
Public	Product names	Standard handling

PII Detection

typescript

const PII_PATTERNS = [
  { type: 'email', regex: /[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}/g },
  { type: 'phone', regex: /\b\d{3}[-.]?\d{3}[-.]?\d{4}\b/g },
  { type: 'ssn', regex: /\b\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}\b/g },
  { type: 'credit_card', regex: /\b\d{4}[- ]?\d{4}[- ]?\d{4}[- ]?\d{4}\b/g },
];

function detectPII(text: string): { type: string; match: string }[] {
  const findings: { type: string; match: string }[] = [];

  for (const pattern of PII_PATTERNS) {
    const matches = text.matchAll(pattern.regex);
    for (const match of matches) {
      findings.push({ type: pattern.type, match: match[0] });
    }
  }

  return findings;
}

Data Redaction

typescript

function redactPII(data: Record<string, any>): Record<string, any> {
  const sensitiveFields = ['email', 'phone', 'ssn', 'password', 'apiKey'];
  const redacted = { ...data };

  for (const field of sensitiveFields) {
    if (redacted[field]) {
      redacted[field] = '[REDACTED]';
    }
  }

  return redacted;
}

// Use in logging
console.log('Clay request:', redactPII(requestData));

Data Retention Policy

Retention Periods

Data Type	Retention	Reason
API logs	30 days	Debugging
Error logs	90 days	Root cause analysis
Audit logs	7 years	Compliance
PII	Until deletion request	GDPR/CCPA

Automatic Cleanup

typescript

async function cleanupClayData(retentionDays: number): Promise<void> {
  const cutoff = new Date();
  cutoff.setDate(cutoff.getDate() - retentionDays);

  await db.clayLogs.deleteMany({
    createdAt: { $lt: cutoff },
    type: { $nin: ['audit', 'compliance'] },
  });
}

// Schedule daily cleanup
cron.schedule('0 3 * * *', () => cleanupClayData(30));

GDPR/CCPA Compliance

Data Subject Access Request (DSAR)

typescript

async function exportUserData(userId: string): Promise<DataExport> {
  const clayData = await clayClient.getUserData(userId);

  return {
    source: 'Clay',
    exportedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
    data: {
      profile: clayData.profile,
      activities: clayData.activities,
      // Include all user-related data
    },
  };
}

Right to Deletion

typescript

async function deleteUserData(userId: string): Promise<DeletionResult> {
  // 1. Delete from Clay
  await clayClient.deleteUser(userId);

  // 2. Delete local copies
  await db.clayUserCache.deleteMany({ userId });

  // 3. Audit log (required to keep)
  await auditLog.record({
    action: 'GDPR_DELETION',
    userId,
    service: 'clay',
    timestamp: new Date(),
  });

  return { success: true, deletedAt: new Date() };
}

Data Minimization

typescript

// Only request needed fields
const user = await clayClient.getUser(userId, {
  fields: ['id', 'name'], // Not email, phone, address
});

// Don't store unnecessary data
const cacheData = {
  id: user.id,
  name: user.name,
  // Omit sensitive fields
};

Instructions

Step 1: Classify Data

Categorize all Clay data by sensitivity level.

Step 2: Implement PII Detection

Add regex patterns to detect sensitive data in logs.

Step 3: Configure Redaction

Apply redaction to sensitive fields before logging.

Step 4: Set Up Retention

Configure automatic cleanup with appropriate retention periods.

Output

•Data classification documented
•PII detection implemented
•Redaction in logging active
•Retention policy enforced

Error Handling

Issue	Cause	Solution
PII in logs	Missing redaction	Wrap logging with redact
Deletion failed	Data locked	Check dependencies
Export incomplete	Timeout	Increase batch size
Audit gap	Missing entries	Review log pipeline

Examples

Quick PII Scan

typescript

const findings = detectPII(JSON.stringify(userData));
if (findings.length > 0) {
  console.warn(`PII detected: ${findings.map(f => f.type).join(', ')}`);
}

Redact Before Logging

typescript

const safeData = redactPII(apiResponse);
logger.info('Clay response:', safeData);

GDPR Data Export

typescript

const userExport = await exportUserData('user-123');
await sendToUser(userExport);

Resources

Next Steps

For enterprise access control, see clay-enterprise-rbac.