What is personal information under CCPA?

Under the CCPA, personal information is any information that identifies, describes, relates to or can reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, to a particular California consumer or household.

Examples include:

• names, addresses, email addresses and account details;

• IP addresses, cookies and other online identifiers;

• browsing history and interactions with websites or advertisements;

• purchase records and consumer preferences;

• geolocation, biometric, employment and education information;

• profiles or inferences about a person’s interests, behaviour or characteristics; and

• sensitive personal information, such as account credentials, precise geolocation, health information and certain identification numbers.

Information does not need to reveal a person’s name to qualify. Device or online activity data may also be personal information when it can reasonably be connected to a consumer or household.

Publicly available information, lawfully obtained information concerning a matter of public interest, and properly deidentified or aggregated data are generally excluded from the definition.