Personal

Personal is an adjective used to describe things relating to a particular person as opposed to those that are public or general. It is commonly applied to aspects that are intimate or private, such as personal belongings, personal opinions, or personal information. The term can also indicate individuality or subjectivity, as in personal choice or personal experience, and is often contrasted with impersonal or public matters.

The word derives from Latin personalis, from persona (mask, character, person), and entered English via Old French and Middle English. The sense shifts from designation of a role or character to describing ownership or relevance to a specific individual.

In modern law and policy, personal data refers to information relating to an identified or identifiable living person. Data protection regimes, such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), regulate the collection, storage, and processing of personal data. Examples include names, contact details, and online identifiers; sensitive categories include health information and biometric data. Anonymized data generally falls outside this scope.

In philosophy and ethics, the term is also used in discussions of personal identity and personhood, addressing what constitutes the persistence of a person over time and what makes a person a morally and socially recognized agent. The word is sometimes confused with personnel, which refers to staff or employees.