What counts as personal and sensitive personal information under the US CCPA?
Personal information is information that identifies, relates to, describes, or could reasonably be linked to a particular consumer or household. It can include names, email addresses, browsing history, geolocation data, and inferences about a person's preferences or characteristics.
Sensitive personal information is a narrower set of personal information that includes things like social security numbers, driver's license numbers, account login or financial account credentials, precise geolocation, the contents of mail, email, and text messages, genetic data, biometric information used to identify a consumer, and information about health, sex life, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic origin, citizenship or immigration status, religious or philosophical beliefs, or union membership.
- Personal information includes sensitive personal information.
- Publicly available information is not personal information under the CCPA definition.
- The same data point can be personal information in one context and sensitive personal information in another depending on how it is collected and used.
CPPA FAQ source used for plain-language context on consumer privacy rights under the CCPA.
California Civil Code source defining personal information and sensitive personal information categories for the FAQ answer.