Pseudonymize

To assign a pseudonym, or fictitious name, to a piece of data or identifying information in order to conceal the true identity of an individual or entity. This process helps protect privacy by replacing sensitive data with an artificial identifier, making it difficult or impossible to link information back to a specific person without access to a key or decryption method. Pseudonymization falls short of complete anonymization, as the possibility to re-identify an individual may still exist under certain conditions. It's a valuable tool used in data security and privacy practices.

Pseudonymize meaning with examples

• To comply with GDPR regulations, the hospital needed to pseudonymize patient records before sharing them with researchers. This involved replacing names and direct identifiers with unique codes. The research team was then given access to the coded data, preventing them from directly identifying the patients while still allowing for valuable medical research and analysis.
• The online platform decided to pseudonymize user accounts for their new analytics program. This was done to track user behavior for targeted marketing and to improve user experience. By removing any direct link to a user's real-world identity, the platform was able to gather valuable usage data without compromising user privacy.
• To ensure the anonymity of participants in the psychological study, researchers would first pseudonymize all identifying details from their survey responses. The responses were stored with generated random identifiers to protect the participant's privacy and to prevent the data from being linked to their personal information.
• The news outlet chose to pseudonymize the sources providing information for the investigative report. They removed the names of their sources and replaced them with arbitrary designations. The purpose was to protect the sources from potential repercussions stemming from their disclosure.
• Before releasing the financial data set, the firm was required to pseudonymize any personally identifiable information. This meant the removal of names, account numbers, and other information. They replaced this with a system of aliases to preserve its usefulness while protecting their clients.