Sensitive data
Also known as: sensitive personal information · special category data
Sensitive data is personal information whose disclosure would expose the individual to serious harm, which earns it a stricter protection regime.
It classically covers health, biometrics, origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, sex life and trade union membership. Financial data and data about minors often get comparable treatment.
The stricter regime shows up mainly in the level of consent required — explicit rather than inferred — and in the near-automatic trigger of an impact assessment.
Sensitivity is also contextual: an address is unremarkable; the same address in a list of people housed at a shelter is not.
What it means for a small business
A wellness app asking for a weight and a heart rate is processing health data, even if nobody on the team has ever used that word.
Related terms
So what actually applies to you?
A definition tells you what a term means, not what your organization must do. The assessment answers the second question — free, no credit card.
Updated September 1, 2026 · Educational definition; not legal advice.