What a clean room actually is
A controlled compute environment where two parties run agreed analyses against agreed data without either party exfiltrating raw records.
When to use one
When rights or competitive concerns prevent direct data exchange but joint analysis is high-value - measurement, attribution, benchmarking, and matched-cohort work.
What it does not solve
A clean room does not create rights, fix consent, or remove sensitivity. It is a delivery surface, not a rights instrument.
Questions buyers actually ask.
No. It is an operational control inside a rights posture, not a substitute for one.
Yes, where both parties agree on inputs and the run is reproducible.
They are stricter compute environments useful when even the workload must remain confidential. Choice is driven by counterparty risk.
Run logs, code attestations, and output reviews are part of the enclave's binder.