Glossary
PII (personally identifiable information)
Information that can identify a specific person, alone or combined with other data.
In more detail
Name, address, phone number, email, Social Security number, biometrics and precise geolocation are the obvious cases. The harder cases are combinations: a birth date plus a postcode plus a gender is frequently enough to identify one person uniquely.
Why it matters to you
Data brokers often argue that individual fields are innocuous. The risk lives in aggregation, which is precisely what they sell.
Related terms
- Data broker
A company that collects personal information about people it has no relationship with, and sells it.
- Sensitive personal information
A legally distinct category carrying heightened protection, including health, biometric and precise location data.