Transparency report (archived)
At Slack we are committed to trust and transparency. As part of this commitment, we publish periodic reports about requests for data by law enforcement and government entities. The latest report is below and covers all such requests received from 1 May 2017 up to and including 31 October 2017. More information about our policies and practices with respect to data (including definitions of terms not defined herein) can be found in the Slack Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Security Practices and Data Request Policy.
In addition to our belief in the importance of trust and transparency, as outlined here and in our policies, we believe in the importance of fundamental privacy protections, legal safeguards and judicial oversight of government data collection and surveillance. We support codifying reforms to Section 702 of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expiring this year in order to reduce the overly broad collection of information.
Guiding principles
- We are committed to maintaining Customer privacy and confidentiality
- Every request is carefully reviewed to ensure there is a valid legal process
- All requests will be interpreted narrowly by Slack
- Wherever possible, we encourage Customers and third parties to seek data without our intervention
Requests for information through legal process
During this period we received a total of five requests for information from US law enforcement and government entities. Of those requests, one was withdrawn, one was objected to, two resulted in the disclosure of non-content data and one resulted in the disclosure of content and non-content data.
| Type of request | Number of requests received | No information disclosed | Only non-content data disclosed | Content data and non-content data disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subpoena | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Search warrant | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
National security requests
| Number of security requests received | 0 |
Definitions
“Content data”: Includes user-generated data (such as public and private messages, posts, files and DMs).
“National security requests”: A national security letter issued under 18 USC §2709, a court order issued under the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or any other classified request for user information issued in the United States.
“No information disclosed”: Reflects the fact that Slack objected to the validity of the demand or did not have responsive records.
“Non-content data”: Basic account information (such as name and email address, registration information, login history and payment information) and other non-content metadata (such as the date, time and sender/recipient of messages or files).
“Pending” Requests received by Slack that have not yet been analysed by Slack.
“Search warrant”: A demand issued by a judge or magistrate upon a finding of probable cause to search or seize the property or place described therein.
“Subpoena”: A formal compulsory demand for the production of documents or testimony issued by a government entity (including grand jury subpoenas, administrative subpoenas, investigative subpoenas and trial subpoenas).
Previous versions of this report can be found in our archives.
Updated: 1 November 2017.