How to export emails for a subject access request (GDPR)
Your emails never leave your computer.
Short answer: Find every email about the person, move them into one Outlook folder or Gmail label, export that folder so each email becomes its own PDF with its attachments, review and redact other people's personal data in the PDFs, then send them with the index as your record of what was disclosed. GDPR gives you one month to respond, extendable by two further months for complex requests.
1. Find the emails
Search the mailbox for the person's name, email addresses and any reference numbers. Move every result into a dedicated folder (Outlook) or label (Gmail), so the export covers exactly the emails in scope. If several mailboxes hold relevant mail, repeat for each.
2. Export them
- Open emails2pdf.com/app and connect the mailbox (or upload .pst, .mbox, .eml or .msg files).
- Choose the folder you created, and a date range if the request covers a period.
- Export. Each email becomes a searchable PDF showing the sender, recipients and date as sent; attachments are saved as the original files beside it;
index.xlsxlists every email.
The emails are converted in your browser and never uploaded, so the personal data you are handling does not pass through another company's servers.
3. Review and redact
Before sending, remove other people's personal data where disclosing it would affect their rights. Emails2PDF does not redact; open the PDFs in a PDF editor with a redaction tool. Keep the index, updated with what you withheld and why, as your record of the response.
Questions
Do I have to provide the emails as PDF?
GDPR does not prescribe PDF. When a request is made electronically, the information should be provided in a commonly used electronic form unless the person asks otherwise; PDF is the usual choice because it is readable everywhere and keeps the email's layout.
How long do I have to respond?
Without undue delay and at the latest within one month of receiving the request. The period can be extended by two further months where requests are complex or numerous, if you tell the person within the first month.
Can Emails2PDF redact names and addresses?
No. It produces the PDFs and the index; redaction is done afterwards in a PDF editor that permanently removes the redacted text.
Is it safe to process personal data with this tool?
The conversion runs in your browser on your own computer. Email content is not sent to or stored by Emails2PDF; see the privacy page for exactly what our service stores.