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Personal Data

What is Personal Data?

Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. Under GDPR, this includes names, identification numbers, location data, online identifiers, and factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of a person.

Privacy

What the standards actually require on personal data

Requirements naming personal data across 6 standards, quoted from the control text.

GDPR29 controls

Process personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences, or related security measures, only under the control of official authority or where Union or Member State law authorises the processing and provides appropriate safeguards for the rights and...

GDPR-Art.10 · Processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions

Operators must keep records of the provision of personal data to third parties, including state authorities, with details of the recipient, legal basis, scope of data and date of provision.

RU-152FZ-020 · Records of Provision of Personal Data to Third Parties

Special categories of personal data, including data on race, nationality, political views, religious beliefs, health and intimate life, may be processed only with the written consent of the data subject or in specific cases provided by law.

UZB-DPL-08 · Sensitive Categories of Personal Data
PDPA Thailand20 controls

Personal data means any information relating to a natural person enabling identification, directly or indirectly, excluding information of deceased persons.

Section 6 · Definitions and Scope of Personal Data

Processing of sensitive personal data and personality profiles requires explicit consent or another statutory basis, with stricter safeguards including limitations on disclosure to third parties.

CH-FADP-03 · Sensitive personal data and personality profiles

In addition to the Article 9 obligations, the DPO of the controller or processor must follow and implement the security policies and procedures necessary to avoid any breach or infringement of sensitive personal data.

EGY-PDPL-Art.13 · DPO security duties for sensitive personal data

Questions people ask about personal data

What is Personal Data?
Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. Under GDPR, this includes names, identification numbers, location data, online identifiers, and factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of a person.
Why is Personal Data important for compliance?
Personal Data is a key concept in Privacy. Understanding personal data helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Personal Data?
Personal Data appears in the requirement text of GDPR, Russia Federal Law on Personal Data (152-FZ), Uzbekistan Law on Personal Data (No. ZRU-547), PDPA Thailand, Switzerland New Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP/nDSG, 2023). Across these standards we have identified 127 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Personal Data?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how personal data applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 686 frameworks.

See how Personal Data applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.