An introductory guide to de-identification for privacy professionals, risk managers … and anyone else who feels a bit bewildered
When it comes to de-identification, you can’t apply privacy or data protection law, or assess project risk, until you first understand the relative merits and limitations of different de-identification techniques. There are detailed, lengthy guides available for statisticians and data scientists, but what if you want something more accessible as an introduction?
This concise eBook will improve data literacy for privacy, risk & compliance and legal professionals. It covers:
- Why de-identification matters in privacy law
- Why de-identification matters in business practice
- Managing risk: (re)identification and other privacy harms
- What ‘identifiability’ means in law and in practice
- A plain language guide to different de-identification measures (including k-anonymity and differential privacy) and techniques, including their strengths and weaknesses
- An introduction to privacy-preserving computation techniques, and
- A checklist of factors to consider for any given de-identification proposal.
If you want to understand how de-identification fits into privacy or data protection law, a simple illustration of how each different technique works, and a plain language overview of the strengths and weaknesses to factor into risk assessment considerations, this guide is for you.
Our guide provides a useful introduction to the topic in any jurisdiction. Updated August 2025 to reflect the I-MED case.
This eBook is included with other resources in a number of our value-packed Compliance Kits.
Or click below to purchase this eBook on its own: Demystifying De-identification.
Questions? See our eBook FAQs.
