Personal Data: What Counts and What Does Not
Data protection law only applies to personal data — information relating to a living person who can be identified. Knowing what falls inside that definition helps you focus your effort where it matters.
This is general guidance to help you spot personal data in your own systems; the boundaries can be subtle, so seek specialist advice for unusual cases.
Common Examples of Personal Data
- Names, email addresses and phone numbers.
- Home and billing addresses.
- IP addresses and device identifiers in many cases.
- Photographs where someone is recognisable.
- Order history tied to a named account.
Special Category Data Needs Extra Care
Some information is more sensitive and carries stricter rules. This includes data about health, race, religion, sexual orientation, political views and biometric or genetic data used to identify someone.
What Usually Falls Outside
Truly anonymous data that can never be traced back to an individual is not personal data. Information about a company itself, rather than a named contact, is generally outside scope too — though business email addresses that identify a person are still personal data.
| Information | Personal data? |
|---|---|
| [email protected] | Yes — identifies a person |
| [email protected] | Usually no — a generic mailbox |
| Aggregated visitor totals | No — not about an individual |
| A health condition on file | Yes — special category |
If you need a hand with any of this, your Progressive Robot delivery team is ready to help. Raise a ticket from the Support area of your client portal or speak to your account manager and we will guide you through the next steps.