What is a data steward?
Definition
A data steward is the person or group responsible for how a set of data is protected, shared and kept accurate, including enforcing the policies that govern it.
- Category
- Data
- Also called
- data stewardship
- Last updated
NIST's glossary describes data stewards as the people who enforce data policies, while functional data managers carry the policies out and handle day-to-day quality. Another NIST-listed definition says stewards are accountable across the data lifecycle for setting protection, sharing and governance guidelines for the data in their subject area, keeping names and definitions consistent, following legal and policy requirements, applying the right security controls and improving data quality.
In plain terms: a company has customer records, and someone has to decide who may see them, how long they're kept and what counts as a correct entry. That someone is the steward. At a hospital, the steward for patient records might approve which teams get access. At a retailer, the steward for customer data might fix duplicate or outdated records.
Data steward vs. related roles
- Data controller decides why and how personal data is used, and is legally responsible under laws like the GDPR. A steward usually works for the controller.
- Data protection officer advises on privacy law compliance and is a role some organizations must have. A steward manages the data itself.
- Data processor handles data on behalf of the controller. A steward oversees the data, not the processing job.
Why it matters to you
You'll rarely meet a data steward, but their work decides whether the company that holds your name, address and account details keeps it accurate, limits who sees it and secures it. When no one owns that job, old records pile up and leak in breaches.
How to protect yourself
- 1
Ask who is responsible for your data
A company's privacy policy should say how to contact it about your data. Use that contact to ask what it holds and who handles it.
- 2
Request your data
Under laws like the GDPR and several US state laws you can ask a company for a copy of your personal data. See what a data subject access request is in our glossary.
- 3
Ask for deletion of data you no longer need to share
Close old accounts and ask the company to delete your data, so fewer stewards hold copies of it.
- 4
Remove what brokers hold
Data brokers hold records no one you know manages. Serus finds the data brokers that list you where you live and removes your data from them.
See where your personal data is exposed
Serus finds it on data brokers and people-search sites and removes it.
Frequently asked
What does a data steward do?
They enforce data policies, define what correct data looks like, check that legal and security requirements are met and fix quality problems in a given area of data.
Is a data steward the same as a data owner?
Not exactly. An owner is accountable for a data set at a high level. A steward handles the policies and quality work day to day. Organizations use the terms differently, so check how a given company defines them.
Do small companies need a data steward?
It depends on the law and the company. Many small teams give the job to someone who already handles the data, formally or not.
Sources
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