PII

PII (Personally Identifiable Information) is any data that can be used to identify a specific individual, either on its own or in combination with other data. Direct PII includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, national ID numbers, and passport numbers. Indirect PII includes IP addresses, device identifiers, location coordinates, and combinations of non-personal fields that together identify someone.

Privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA impose strict requirements on the collection, storage, processing, and transfer of PII. Organizations must have a lawful basis for processing PII, protect it with appropriate security measures, and honor individuals' rights to access, correct, and delete their data.

When working with data APIs and datasets, identify whether any fields constitute PII before storing or processing the data. Property listing contact details (agent names, phone numbers) are PII; property prices and addresses are generally not. Building PII-aware data handling into your pipeline from the start is far cheaper than retrofitting it later.