Glossary/Privacy and identity/Personal data
What counts as personal data in advertising under GDPR?
What counts as personal data under GDPR, which advertising identifiers are included, and what publishers need in place.
Written by Samhub with the help of AI·Updated 13 Oct 2026·3 min readPersonal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable person, directly or indirectly. Under GDPR this includes online identifiers such as cookie IDs and IP addresses.
Personal data in advertising
| Data | Personal data? |
|---|---|
| Name, email, address | Yes |
| Cookie and device IDs | Yes, they identify a browser or device |
| IP address | Usually yes |
| Hashed email | Yes, it is pseudonymized, not anonymous |
| Aggregated counts | No, if no one can be singled out |
What publishers need
A legal basis
Often consent for advertising purposes.
Transparency
Tell readers what you collect and why.
Agreements
DPAs with processors and vendors.
Security and minimization
Collect only what you need, and protect it.
16 pages for publishers, with a checklist for data, programmatic and direct sales.
First-party data in one place
When data sits in many tools, it is harder to know what you hold and who processes it. One EU-based data layer makes rights requests, deletion and consent easier to handle.
Addressability at Stampen Media after moving its reader data into one layer with Samhub.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, under GDPR it is an online identifier.
Yes. Only truly anonymous data falls outside GDPR.
Sensitive data, such as health or political views, with stricter rules.
Yes, with a legal basis, usually consent, and clear information.
Related terms
Replacing direct identifiers so data cannot be linked to a person on its own.
The GDPR contract between a controller and a processor.
Collects and stores readers’ consent choices.
The industry standard for passing consent to ad tech vendors.
A GDPR legal basis other than consent.
One EU-based platform to collect, unify and enrich your first-party data, installed with one script.
- A walkthrough with your own data
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Get the Media Monetization Playbook: how media houses turn first-party data into higher CPMs, data deals and direct sales. With checklists for every step.
