Sub-Processor List

Complete list of REFRACT PDF sub-processors and third-party services, satisfying GDPR Art. 28(3)(d) and enterprise procurement requirements.

Last updated: 2026-05-31. Version: 1.0.

This document lists all sub-processors and third-party services used by REFRACT PDF, provided to satisfy GDPR Art. 28(3)(d) and enterprise procurement requirements.

Understanding the Two Processing Scopes

REFRACT PDF has two distinct processing scopes with different sub-processor profiles:

Customer-deployed infrastructure - the Azure resources deployed into the customer's own Azure subscription via Bicep. Sub-processors here are sub-processors of your organisation, not of REFRACT PDF. You engage them directly under your Microsoft Customer Agreement.
REFRACT PDF-operated services - the Licensing API, eSign Portal, and REFRACT Notification service (which uses shared Azure Communication Services for outbound email when Bring-Your-Own email is not configured), operated by REFRACT PDF. These are the REFRACT PDF-operated services relevant to a DPA with REFRACT PDF.

Scope Overview

flowchart TB
    subgraph YourOrg["🏢 Your Organisation (Data Controller)"]
        Users["👤 Users & Approvers"]
        subgraph YourAzure["Your Azure Subscription (Microsoft MCA - you are the controller)"]
            Functions["The Dispatcher · The REFRACT Engine<br/>Azure Service Bus queues · Azure Key Vault<br/>Azure Blob Storage · App Insights"]
        end
        subgraph YourM365["Your Microsoft 365 Tenant (Microsoft MCA - you are the controller)"]
            SPODoc["SharePoint Libraries<br/>Activity Lists · Entra ID"]
        end
    end

    subgraph REFRACT PDFOp["🔐 REFRACT PDF (Limited Processor)"]
        LicAPI2["Licensing API<br/>(Microsoft Azure · West Europe)<br/>Receives: license key + tenant ID only"]
        eSignPortal2["eSign Portal<br/>(Microsoft Azure · West Europe)<br/>Receives: HMAC token only · stateless"]
        Notify2["REFRACT Notification service<br/>(Microsoft Azure · West Europe)<br/>Receives: notification metadata only"]
        SharedACS2["Shared ACS Email<br/>(Microsoft Azure · West Europe)<br/>Receives: recipient email + notification text<br/>only when BYO email is NOT configured"]
        Notify2 --> SharedACS2
    end

    Users --> YourM365
    Users --> YourAzure
    Functions -->|"license key + tenant ID - no document content, no PII"| LicAPI2
    Functions -->|"HMAC token - no document bytes, no identity data"| eSignPortal2
    Functions -->|"notification metadata (BYO not configured)"| Notify2

    style REFRACT PDFOp fill:#fce4ec,stroke:#c62828
    style YourOrg fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#2e7d32

REFRACT PDF-Operated Sub-Processors

These sub-processors process data on behalf of REFRACT PDF in the operation of the Licensing API, eSign Portal, and REFRACT Notification service.

Sub-processor	Purpose	Data processed	Location	Safeguard
Microsoft Azure (Microsoft Corporation)	Hosts REFRACT PDF Licensing API and eSign Portal	License keys, tenant IDs, HMAC tokens	West Europe (Netherlands)	Microsoft Data Processing Agreement; EU SCCs (Art. 46(2)(c))
Azure Communication Services (Microsoft Corporation)	Outbound email for REFRACT PDF shared email infrastructure (`noreply@refractplatform.com`, `noreply@refractplatform.com`)	Recipient email address, email body	West Europe	Microsoft DPA; EU SCCs

Bring Your Own Email

When you configure Bring Your Own Email (-EmailProvider customer-acs), your Azure Communication Services resource is used instead of REFRACT PDF shared email. In that case, Azure Communication Services is your sub-processor, not REFRACT PDF's.

Customer-Deployed Infrastructure Sub-Processors

These are sub-processors engaged directly by your organisation when you deploy REFRACT PDF into your Azure subscription. REFRACT PDF is not a party to these agreements.

Sub-processor	Service	Data processed	Notes
Microsoft Corporation	Azure Functions, Azure Service Bus queues, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Key Vault, App Insights, Log Analytics	Document payloads, PDFs, audit logs, encryption keys	Under your Microsoft Customer Agreement and Data Processing Addendum
Microsoft Corporation	SharePoint Online, Entra ID	Documents, approver identities, Activity list data	Under your Microsoft 365 subscription and MCA DPA
Microsoft Corporation	Azure Communication Services (optional)	Approver/recipient email addresses, email content	Only when BYO email is configured

Data Flows to Sub-Processors

Data	Recipient	Data content
License key and Microsoft 365 tenant ID	REFRACT PDF Licensing API (Microsoft Azure)	Non-personal identifiers
HMAC portal token	REFRACT PDF eSign Portal (Microsoft Azure)	Pseudonymous token; no identity or document data
Notification emails	REFRACT PDF shared Azure Communication Services (Microsoft Azure) or your Azure Communication Services	Recipient email and notification text (no document content unless you include it in email templates)
All document data, PDFs, audit records	Your Azure subscription (Microsoft Azure)	Under your own MCA

Engagement Notices

REFRACT PDF commits to:

Notifying customers of any intended changes to this sub-processor list with 30 days' notice before the change takes effect.
Providing customers with the opportunity to object to the change. If no resolution is possible, either party may terminate the relevant services on notice.

DPA and Sub-Processor Inquiries

Contact our privacy team for Data Processing Agreement requests and sub-processor questionnaires.

Privacy Inquiries Back to Trust Center