Personally Identifiable Information (PII) refers to any information such as name, address, or email id that can be used to identify an individual uniquely. This information can include sensitive information about a person and can pose a risk to an individual’s privacy and security.
Following are some examples of personally identifiable information:
- Name
- Email address
- Phone number
- Home address
- Date of birth
- Race
- Gender
- Political opinions
- Credit card numbers
- Data held by a hospital or doctor
- Identifiable photograph of an individual
- Social Security number
- A cookie ID
- IP address
- Location data
- The advertising identifier of your phone
According to GDPR, businesses should obtain explicit consent or have a legal basis for collecting personally identifiable information. Businesses are required to follow the principles of GDPR before collecting personal data and should have necessary measures in place to protect the data from internal and external threats.