Sensitive data

Types of sensitive data

Personal data

Personal data relates to a living person who can be identified:

directly from that information

or indirectly through a combination of information

Directly identifiable data clearly identifies an individual. This could include name, address, email address, location data or certain online identifiers.

Indirectly identifiable personal data does not directly identify an individual. But, it might do so in combination with other information. Examples include:

car registration number

national insurance number

or a combination of significant criteria such as age, occupation, or address

Special category data

Special category data is more sensitive and requires extra protection. This includes information about an individual’s:

race or ethnic origin

political opinions

religious or philosophical beliefs

trade union membership

genetics

biometrics (where used for ID purposes

health

sex life or sexual orientation

Criminal Offence data

Criminal offence data is personal data about criminal convictions, offences or related security measures. Criminal offence data requires extra protection. The use of this data could risk the rights and freedoms of individuals.

Culturally sensitive data

Culturally sensitive data is data that:

may cause harm to an individual or community

may have a significant negative public impact if released.

Environmentally sensitive data

Data can be environmentally sensitive if it relates to the location of rare or endangered plants, animals or vulnerable ecosystems.

Commercially sensitive data

Commercially sensitive data has the potential for commercial application. A restrictive commercial research funding agreement may apply to it.