Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is any information about a person that can be used to identify them. This could be the date and place of birth or biometric records. The term is a synonym for personal data, which is the term used under the GDPR. Personally, Identifiable Information is, as a term, common in the U.S.
This includes information that directly identifies an individual. An example of this could be the individual’s name or address. It also includes information that, in combination with other information, can identify the individual. An example of this would be combinations of information about gender and race.
Further examples of what Personally Identifiable Information could be are:
- Social security number;
- Mother’s maiden name;
- Medical information;
- Geographic indicators;
- Educational infromation;
- Telephone number;
- Financial information; and/or
- Employment information.