Discovery
Automatically finds databases, collections, and fields by sampling collection data to infer schema.
Ketch and MongoDB
Discover personal data in a database with no fixed schema to consult, and fulfill deletion requests against it directly once you're ready to authorize that.
About MongoDB
MongoDB's document model means personal data can appear in wildly different shapes across collections, with no central schema definition to read ahead of time. Knowing what a collection actually contains means sampling real documents, not assuming a structure. Once that's established, MongoDB's own role system supports going further: from read-only visibility to direct rights fulfillment.
Ketch connects to MongoDB through a Ketch Transponder to support both.
Capabilities
How Ketch works with MongoDB
The Ketch MongoDB integration covers three capabilities: Discovery, and Rights Orchestration for both Right to Access and Right to Delete.The connected service account's role determines what's actually possible: a `read` role across the databases being discovered is sufficient for Discovery alone, while `readWrite` roles on specific databases enable Rights Orchestration on top of that. The account itself can also be provisioned in a custom authentication database (auth source) rather than the default `admin` database, if that fits an organization's existing access model better.
Rights Orchestration
Retrieves personal data from collections to fulfill access requests, and can delete or update personal data directly to fulfill erasure requests.
With Ketch, teams can
- Discover personal data across MongoDB collections by sampling actual document structure, rather than assuming a fixed schema
- Fulfill access and deletion requests directly against MongoDB collections once `readWrite` access is granted
- Provision the service account against a custom auth source database if that matches existing MongoDB access conventions
The gap
The problem this integration solves
A schema-less document database creates a real discovery challenge, and rights fulfillment against it needs a properly scoped path once an organization is ready for it:
01. Without sampling actual documents, there's no reliable way to know what fields a given collection actually contains
02. Manually locating and updating or deleting a specific person's data across MongoDB collections doesn't scale to real request volume
03. Jumping straight to broad write access, without a clear read-only Discovery step first, skips the chance to build confidence in what's actually being discovered before authorizing execution
Ketch resolves this by sampling document structure directly for Discovery, and by supporting a clean progression from read-only visibility to `readWrite`-enabled rights fulfillment as an organization is ready.
Why Ketch
Why teams choose Ketch for MongoDB privacy compliance
Permissioning infrastructure that governs MongoDB the same way it governs every other system in your stack — not a one-off connector bolted onto a banner.
Built for schema-less discovery
Rather than assuming a fixed structure, discovery samples actual document content to infer what fields exist and what they hold.
A clear path from visibility to execution
Read-only access supports Discovery alone; `readWrite` access unlocks direct rights fulfillment, so an organization can move at its own pace.
Backed by enforcement precedent
Regulators increasingly expect businesses to prove technical enforcement, not just describe it on paper, the same underlying expectation that applies to knowing what personal data a database holds.
Questions about the MongoDB integration
Related reading
Expert insights for teams connecting MongoDB
Integrations
Pre-built APIs with 1,000+ systems, apps, and models
Ketch ships connectors and SDKs so consent, rights, and policy flow into your CDPs, warehouses, ad platforms, and AI stack — without a custom data pipeline.
See MongoDB permissioning running end to end
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