8 Examples of Personal Data

John Spacey, June 23, 2020

Personal data is information concerning a person. This includes any information pertaining to a person's identity, character, behavior, relationships, status, finances, health, interests and history. The following are illustrative examples of personal data.

Identifiers

Numbers and strings that can be used to unambiguously identify a person. Often used to unify a large collection of personal data. For example, technology companies commonly use a mobile phone number as a key in databases that may contain large amounts of personal data from multiple sources.

Account Number	Credit Card Number
Customer Id	Employee Id
Government Id	Loyalty Card Number
Mobile Phone Number	Name + Address
Serial Number of Personal Device	Tracking Id

A name isn't guaranteed to be unique but a name in combination with one other piece of data is typically unique. For example, name + address is usually unique.

Identity

Data that describes basic elements of your identity.

Address	Age
Date of Birth	Disability Status
Education	Ethnicity
Family Tree	Gender
Height	Memberships
Name	Nationality
Physical Descriptions (e.g. Eye Color)	Profession
Race	Religion
Residential Status	Sexual Orientation
Veteran Status	Work History

Biometric

Information about your body that can be used to identify you. For example, a hash code generated from your fingerprint that can be used to unambiguously identify you. This has unusual privacy implications because you leave your fingerprints on anything you touch such that it maps to your historical location.

DNA	Face Images
Fingerprints	Gait
Handwriting	Voice Recording

Medical Data

Information that indicates your health status. For example, information about your walking habits or sleeping habits. This is particularly sensitive as health issues may be considered intimate personal information.

DNA	Family Medical History
Health Status	Lifestyle (e.g. walking or diet)
Medical History	Medical Observations
Medical Purchases (e.g. over-the-counter medicines)	Medical Tests
Medical Treatments	Temperature Readings
Weight

Financial Data

Information about your financial status, behavior or history.

Assets	Bankruptcies
Family Wealth	Financial Scores (e.g. Credit Record)
Financial Transactions	Homeowner Status
Salary	Wealth

Character & Behavior

Information that indicates your personality, lifestyle and interests.

Behavior Tracking	Beliefs
Contacts	Diet Preferences
Education Records	Employment Records
Event Attendance	Government Records (e.g. Border Control Data)
Hobbies	Interests
Location (e.g. GPS)	Professional Connections
Purchase History	Social Connections
Survey Data	User Interface Events

Media & Communications

Personal media and communications such as family photos or phone calls.

Artwork	Communication Logs & Records
Compositions	Emails
Messages	Photos
Recordings of Personal Conversations	Video Conferencing
Videos	Voice Communications

Public Surveillance

Personally identifiable information recorded by public surveillance technologies and techniques.

Capture of Communications	Capture of Media
Logs of Communication	Logs of Phone Calls
Sensor Data	Video Recordings
Voice Recording

Overview: Personal Data
Type	Private Data
Definition	Information that concerns a person or that is owned by a person.
Related Concepts	Private Data » Identity » Lifestyle » Personally Identifiable »