Data minimisation

Data minimisation is the habit of giving or collecting only the personal data truly needed for a task, and keeping it for as short a time as possible.

Data minimisation: Data minimisation means collecting, sharing and keeping only the personal information that is truly needed for a stated purpose, and deleting it when the purpose is over. It is a simple privacy idea that applies to companies and to you as a user.

As a user, you apply it by asking, "Do they really need this?" A gym may need your name and phone number, not your Aadhaar copy. A shopping app may not need your contacts. A form with ten optional boxes can be filled with only the required ones. Each extra detail you give is one more thing that can leak or be sold.

For companies, it means not hoarding data. For you, it also means cleaning up: delete old accounts, remove apps you no longer use, and clear old photos of documents from your gallery and chats. If a service insists on much more than it needs, consider another one. Fewer details out there mean fewer chances for fraud. This is one of the easiest privacy habits to start today.

Tips

• Fill only the required fields on forms and skip the optional ones.
• Delete photos of IDs and cards from your gallery and chats after use.
• Close accounts and uninstall apps you no longer use.

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