Techniques for using contextual information to manage data that is subject to one or more data-handling requirements are described herein. In many instances, the techniques capture or depend upon the contextual information surrounding the creation and/or subsequent actions associated with the data. The contextual information may be updated as the data is handled in various manners. The contextual information may be used to identify data-handling requirements that are applicable to the data, such as regulations, standards, internal policies, business decisions, privacy obligations, security requirements, and so on. The techniques may analyze the contextual information at any time to provide responses regarding handling of the data to requests from requestors, such as administrators, applications, and others.