Personal information - what is it?
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Due to the Data (Use and Access) Act coming into law on 19 June 2025, this guidance is under review and may be subject to change. The Plans for new and updated guidance page will tell you about which guidance will be updated and when this will happen.
The guidance on this page is suitable for large businesses in the public, private and third sectors. Small businesses should use the resources on our small business web hub.
Brief guidance
Who does the UK GDPR apply to?
A brief overview of who the UK GDPR applies to and some key definitions.
What is personal information?
The definition of personal information and how to know whether the information you are using is personal information.
Detailed guidance
What is personal information?
Detailed guidance about what personal information is, identifiers and related factors, directly identifying someone and the definition of "relates to".
Anonymisation guidance
Covering anonymisation techniques, the role that anonymisation plays in the three regimes of data protection law and accountability and governance measures. Includes case studies.
Resources
Training videos: What is personal data?
Recordings of ICO staff training on what personal information is and some key data protection definitions, available for you to reuse.