Privacy Statements Confusing - Who Are You?

Let’s get back to understanding what our “personal data” is in the new age of  privacy.

Answer
From  (GDPR)

“Personal data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable living individual. Different pieces of information, which collected together can lead to the identification of a particular person, also constitute personal data.

Personal data that has been de-identified, encrypted or pseudonymised but can be used to re-identify a person remains personal data and falls within the scope of the law.”

 Ebay

“Personal information is information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.  An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identifier such as a name, and identification number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person."

Facebook

Facebook (I’ll be devoting much more to FB’s new privacy policies soon ) with its clear language and folksy tone, focuses almost entirely on how they “collect” and “use” your information.  Even the word “identity” is shunned by them.  You simply are your data.

Identifiers: unique identifiers, device IDs, and other identifiers, such as from games, apps or accounts you use, and Family Device IDs (or other identifiers unique to Facebook Company Products associated with the same device or account).

[In FB’s Settings you can click down to all the specifics that make up your identity.  It’s a very long list of categories.] Again, more about this later.  

So How Am I Doing So Far?

My identity is me – a living person. I have to be natural.  My personal data is anything that points to me when I’m alive.  This can be my name, ID number, the location I am at and where I am online.  My data tells about my physical body, my genes, my mental state, how much money I make and my culture. This data can be one thing or it can be many things. But if something happens to this data (words I don’t understand - de-identified, encrypted or pseudonymised) someone else can steal and use my identity.  That's the law. 

....please forgive, I'm only a simple linguist making my way in the new world of privacy statements.