From Vision to Reality: Revoke and Cleverbit's Journey to Empower Data Privacy
How strategic software outsourcing enabled Revoke to build fast, adapt quickly, and scale with confidence.
In a world where personal data is constantly harvested, stored, and sold — often without consent — Revoke set
out to flip the script. Their mission was clear: give people back control over their digital privacy. But
turning that mission into a usable, secure, and scalable product demanded technical excellence, deep regulatory
understanding, and a partner who could deliver both.
“We spent two days brainstorming ideas for our vision of the product – it instantly felt like we were one big team, with everyone sharing their ideas and quickly translating the functionality into technical specifications. From the start it became clear that we could leverage the strengths that Cleverbit brought to the project in terms of their capability to build the robust back-end that the business required. At that stage we determined that our team in Jersey was very capable of building and managing the mobile app, while the Cleverbit Software team would be well-equipped to handle the web applications which are used by external partners and the internal team at Revoke.”
— Gina Foster, Chief Operating Officer, Revoke
A mission we believe in
Revoke, based in the Channel Islands, develops software solutions that empower consumers to regain control of
their digital footprint. Through an intuitive, cross-platform app, users can access services such as dark web
scans, social media privacy health checks, and tools to send DSARs (Data Subject Access Requests) to retrieve,
restrict, or delete personal data held by companies. Identity Theft Insurance protection is also available through
the platform.
For companies, Revoke offers a browser-based interface that simplifies the DSAR handling process and supports
compliance with global privacy laws, including GDPR and CCPA.
Growing with the client
Cleverbit’s involvement began at the earliest stage, with nothing more than an idea on the table. Our CTO, Eman
Zerafa, worked hands-on alongside Revoke’s CTO to shape the vision, define the MVP, and lay the technical
foundation.
As the product vision evolved, so did the team. What started with a single lead developer grew into a dedicated
team of seven, assembled specifically for Revoke: one team lead, two senior software developers, three mid-level
developers, and one junior developer. Cleverbit took full ownership of the web applications, which serve both
Revoke’s internal teams and its corporate partners.
This team became part of Revoke’s own vision, delivering consistently under intense pressure, navigating pivots,
and solving both product and technical challenges with a high sense of ownership.
Fast builds, consistent deliveries
Revoke moved quickly, and so did we. Timelines were tight, pivots were frequent, and investor milestones often
required major feature changes with little lead time. Still, Cleverbit delivered every time.
Whether it was a brand-new feature requested in a sprint review or a UX enhancement needed for an investor demo,
our team not only met the ask, but we often went beyond it. By the time the next review rolled around, the new
feature or improvement was already live and production-ready.
This consistent overdelivery became a core trust pillar between our teams, and a key enabler for Revoke as they
built product momentum and stakeholder confidence.
Navigating Real-World Complexity
As the product matured beyond the proof-of-concept stage, the Cleverbit team took on a deeper role in performance
tuning, flow optimisation, and architectural refinement.
We improved request handling, restructured flow logic for more natural user experiences, and ensured the platform
could handle edge cases and real-world usage at scale. Throughout, we worked closely with Revoke’s leadership to
strike the right balance between delivery speed and long-term stability.
Meanwhile, security requirements were stringent. The nature of Revoke’s mission — giving users control over
sensitive personal data — meant cryptographic protections had to be rock solid. Our team ramped up quickly,
implementing strong encryption protocols and access controls that aligned with GDPR, CCPA, and emerging privacy
frameworks.
Improving Development Flow
To sustain rapid delivery, we continuously looked for ways to reduce friction across the development pipeline. One
particularly impactful improvement came from rethinking how a key workflow was executed.
By restructuring the process behind the scenes, we reduced build time from over 40 minutes to just seconds. This
significantly boosted iteration speed, enabling faster testing, quicker deployments, and more flexibility when
responding to investor or user feedback.
One Team, One Mission
What defined this partnership wasn’t just the delivery — it was the culture. From day one, Cleverbit embedded
fully into Revoke’s product team. We collaborated openly, communicated constantly, and operated as a single,
aligned unit.
Our developers were proactive, adaptive, and solutions-focused, not just more hands on-deck.
“There is absolutely no distinction between Cleverbit Software’s developers and our own in-house team. We are one team working together towards the same goals.”
— Gina Foster, Chief Operating Officer, Revoke
“For this project, in fact for most of our projects, we use an Agile methodology which allows for incremental releases and is designed to cater for continuously changing requirements, which is perfect for such product companies. We conduct daily meetings, and have fortnightly sprints, with a sprint reveal at the end. Then its sprint planning and we start the process over again. We also have meetings where we decide on what the roadmap is (i.e. where the client is headed in terms of large feature development). Open communication is a very important part of the process, and this requires a commitment from both sides; a belief in what we are doing together and respect in the role each one of us plays. We believe in what Revoke stands for, and are honoured to be an important part of this unique project.”
— Eman Zerafa, CTO, Cleverbit
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