Public administration
Data protection for public administration – traceable and on site
The Confederation, cantons and municipalities process personal data on a legal basis – in specialist applications, records management, file storage and mailboxes. Espresso maintains the register, answers requests from the public and ensures that data is deleted, anonymised or archived once the retention periods have expired.
What makes it challenging for public administration
Legal basis
Every processing activity requires a legal basis – and the register must show it.
Archive before deleting
Whatever is no longer needed must be offered to the competent archive before it is destroyed.
Many specialist applications
Residents' registration, taxes, social services, building and HR – often from different vendors.
Traceability
Supervisory bodies, parliament and the public expect decisions to be verifiable.
How public authorities use Espresso
- Privacy Register Register with legal bases Systems, locations of personal data and retention periods with legal basis – exportable for the supervisory authority. Go to the module
- Subject Request Requests from the public Access requests from receipt to response, with identity verification and recorded delivery. Go to the module
- Data Deletion Delete, anonymise or archive Define for each application what happens when the retention period expires – and record every response. Go to the module
- Data Discovery Clean up file storage Find personal data on network drives, in mailboxes and in Microsoft 365 before it becomes a risk. Go to the module
- Privacy Delivery AI in case processing Pass submissions and applications to the AI in pseudonymised form – the response comes back with the original values. Go to the module
The framework for public administration
The FADP applies to federal bodies; the respective cantonal law applies to cantons and municipalities.
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| FADP | For federal bodies; they report their records to the FDPIC (Art. 12 para. 4 FADP). |
| Cantonal data protection laws | For cantons, municipalities and their institutions – with their own rules on the register, access requests and erasure. |
| Archiving law | Federal bodies offer personal data they no longer need on a permanent basis to the Federal Archives (Art. 38 FADP); the cantons have their own archiving laws. |
| Freedom of information | Access to official documents – while protecting the personal data they contain. |
Overview without any claim to completeness; does not replace legal advice in individual cases. As of: 6 October 2026.
Getting started
Start with one specialist application
In the proof of concept, Espresso runs in your test environment – with the modules and applications you are interested in, and with success criteria agreed in advance.
Frequently asked questions
Does Espresso run in our data centre?
Yes – or in the data centre of an operating partner. Espresso never establishes a connection to the vendor of its own accord.
Does Espresso support our cantonal law?
You enter retention periods and legal bases according to your law. The processes for the register, access requests and erasure are the same.
Can data be archived instead of deleted?
Yes. For each application, you can define whether data is deleted, anonymised or archived when the retention period expires.
Can several municipalities or offices share one installation?
Yes. Espresso is multi-tenant: several organisations work in one installation, cleanly separated from one another.
Related topics
- Record Record of processing activities Who has to keep a record, what goes into it and how it stays up to date – under the FADP and the GDPR. Read more
- Requests Data subject access requests Deadline, identity verification and content: answering data subject access requests in full under the FADP and the GDPR. Read more
- Fundamentals Running data protection software yourself Why data protection software often needs to run in your own data centre or your own cloud. Read more
See Espresso in 30 minutes
We will show you the cockpit with sample data – and discuss where you should start.
Request a demoor write directly to info@espressodataprivacy.com