ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Non-personal Data

Non-personal data is information that cannot be used to identify specific people. It includes things like numbers, statistics, and other facts that are not related to a person's name, address or other personal details.

Imagine you have a box of colored blocks, each representing a different type of information. Some blocks have facts about people, like their name, age, or address. But there are also blocks with information that doesn't reveal anything about a specific person, like the number of cars on a road, the amount of rain that falls each year, or the most popular ice cream flavor in a certain area. These blocks are non-personal data.

Non-personal data is still very useful because it can help us understand trends, patterns and make decisions. For example, if we look at how many people buy water bottles versus plastic bottles, we can make decisions to reduce plastic waste. Or, if we study the number of people who use public transportation versus cars, we can decide to invest more in public transportation to reduce air pollution. Non-personal data helps us find solutions to problems without invading people's privacy.