Is a hashed email personal information?

Maybe. Hashing refers to the process of using an algorithm to transform data of any size into a unique fixed sized output (e.g., combination of numbers). The net result is that while hash functions are designed to mask personal data, they can be subject to brute force attacks.

Is hashed data GDPR compliant?

The GDPR does not apply to anonymized data that cannot be traced back to an individual person. But hashing of personal data such as an ID card or medical record accomplishes only pseudonymisation, not anonymisation. GDPR protects pseudonymised data because of the “linkability” of an unreadable hash.

Are email addresses covered by GDPR?

The short answer is, yes it is personal data. GDPR will apply to how personal data, including email addresses, is processed, while PECR gives further guidance on how that data can be used for electronic and telephone marketing purposes.

Is encrypted data personal data GDPR?

So far, no court decided whether encrypted data is personal or not. The GDPR is clearly in favor of encryption, as a measure for protecting personal data. An organization with a strong encryption in place, for example, does not have to inform the data subjects in case of a data breach.

Are hashed emails safe?

Unlike a third-party cookie, the email address is a stable ID that represents a known customer. Through hashing, consumer email addresses are transformed into anonymized identifiers that cannot reveal any personally identifiable information, making the email hash the perfect secure people-based identifier.

Is hashed data anonymous?

As it turns out, hashing is vastly overrated as an “anonymization” technique. A hash is a mathematical function: you give it an input value and the function thinks for a while and then emits an output value; and the same input always yields the same output.

Is hashed IP address personal data?

It’s really just a hash of the user’s IP along with a few other properties[1]. Because the data Umami collects, when combined with some other data, can be attributed back to the user, the data is still considered “personal data”. That means you’re still subject to most of GDPR such as GDPR deletion requests[2].

Do email addresses count as personal data?

A name and a corporate email address clearly relates to a particular individual and is therefore personal data.

Can I request emails about me under GDPR?

Zadeh explains that it’s true that you can request access to your ‘personal data’ which your company keeps on you, that’s any data which relates to an identified or identifiable living individual. However, European case law clearly states that data such as emails your boss has sent about you is exempt from this.

Do emails have to be encrypted under GDPR?

One of the required changes is the need to encrypt emails which contain personal information of clients, customers, employees or anyone else. Therefore, sending a normal email including personal or sensitive information without encryption is considered to be illegal under the GDPR.

Is encryption mandatory under GDPR?

In the GDPR encryption is explicitly mentioned as one of the security and personal data protection measures in a few Articles. Although under the GDPR encryption is not mandatory, it is certainly important to see where and why encryption is advised. And it’s certainly important to also look a bit further than the text.

Can I upload hashed emails to Facebook?

According to Facebook, when you upload a list of email addresses on the ad platform, your customer list is hashed locally on your browser before it’s sent to Facebook. When those hashed email IDs are sent to Facebook, they’re then matched against Facebook’s existing list of their users’ hashed IDs.