What is Transparency Report?
A periodic publication by a company disclosing the number and types of government data requests received, and how many were complied with.
Transparency reports help users understand how often governments demand access to their data.
What They Include
- Number of government data requests received
- Breakdown by country and request type
- How many requests were complied with
- Number of users/accounts affected
- Types of data provided
Who Publishes Them
- Major tech companies (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta)
- Privacy-focused services (Proton, Mullvad, Signal)
- Default Privacy maintains a transparency report at /transparency
Limitations
- Gag orders may prevent disclosing certain requests
- National Security Letters can't be reported individually
- Companies may only report ranges (0-249 NSL requests)
- What's NOT reported can be as telling as what is
What to Look For
When choosing a privacy service, check their transparency report. Bonus points for services that have never received a government request, or that publish warrant canaries.
Related Terms
Gag Order
A legal order that prevents a company from disclosing that it has received a government request for user data, often accompanying National Security Letters.
Subpoena
A legal order requiring a person or company to provide testimony, documents, or other evidence in legal proceedings. Service providers may receive subpoenas demanding user data, which is why privacy-focused services minimize data collection.
Warrant Canary
A method by which a service provider can inform users that they have NOT received a secret government subpoena. If the canary statement is removed or not updated, it signals that the provider may have received such an order and is legally prevented from disclosing it.
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