4 min read · Updated
If I license my company’s data, is it anonymous?
No. It is de-identified. Here is what that means and how to lower the risk.
The short answer
No. Korra (korra.io) calls licensed business records de-identified, not anonymous: names, emails, phone numbers and other direct identifiers are removed or replaced, but people can sometimes still be recognised from what the records say. That is why you choose what stays out, and why the licence should limit who can use the copy and for what.
De-identified and anonymous are different
De-identified means the direct identifiers are gone: names, email addresses, phone numbers, account numbers. Anonymous means nobody could work out who a record is about, even with other information.
Business records rarely reach that second bar. A small team, a job title and a date can point to one person.
What usually comes out
Names, email addresses, phone numbers, street addresses and account numbers. Signatures and footers. Names written inside the message text, not only in the header.
What still carries risk
Job titles in a small team. Unusual events that only a few people were part of. Customer or supplier names typed into the text. A writing style that colleagues would know.
How to lower the risk
Leave out whole areas: direct messages, HR, legal, health and pay. Limit the date range to what the buyer needs.
Review a sample before anything else is shared. Put the limits in the licence: no attempt to identify people, no passing the copy on, and deletion at the end.
What Korra does and does not do
Korra removes names, emails, domains, phone numbers and towns from the listing card that buyers see, and reads every card before it is published.
Korra does not receive or process your records. You and the buyer agree how the records are prepared and handled, and you approve the terms.
Questions owners ask
Does removing names make data anonymous?
No. Removing names and contact details de-identifies records, but people can sometimes still be recognised from the context.
Who removes personal details from the records?
You and the buyer agree who does it and how. Korra does not take or process the records; it only removes identifying details from the public listing card.
Can a buyer re-identify people?
It can be possible, which is why the licence should forbid any attempt to identify people and limit who can use the copy.
Sources
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