# What is personal data?

Personal data is defined by the [World Health Organization](https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/341374/WHO-EURO-2021-1994-41749-57154-eng.pdf) as ‘information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person’.

Personal data can be used to identify an individual either directly or indirectly. Directly identifiable data might include a person’s name, application log-in information, or social security number. Indirectly identifiable information is data that, when combined with other information, could identify an individual, for example geolocation, IP address or physical address. Figure 1 sets out the characteristics of personal and sensitive data often collected and shared about people.

![Figure 1: Types of Data About Us](/files/OuYpJw8qOaM0NjRa01vK)


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://open-data-institute.gitbook.io/data-governance-playbook/play-eight-managing-risks-when-handling-personal-data/what-is-personal-data.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.