The first question that you ask when dealing with any data protection question is – is it personal data? Some people try to present this as one of DP’s great flaws: how can any of this make sense if you can’t be certain what’s covered and what’s not?

But life is full of uncertainty; different situations give rise to different answers, so it’s always best to go back to the beginning and think carefully about the definition and how it applies. This is a quick introduction to the concept of personal data, covering identifiability, whether information is focussed on the individual, and how to work out when UK GDPR applies.