Unabrufbar

Unabrufbar is an adjective in German that describes something that cannot be retrieved on demand or fetched when needed. It is used in information technology, data management, and archival contexts to indicate non-retrievability, whether due to technical inaccessibility, deletion, legal restrictions, or processing that prevents standard retrieval.

Etymology: The term is formed from the verb abrufen (to fetch, to retrieve) with the negating prefix un-, giving a meaning of “not retrievable.”

Common usage contexts:

- In IT and data management, unabrufbar can describe data or records that cannot be retrieved by users or applications, for example because they have been deleted, overwritten, encrypted, or access-restricted by permissions.

- In archives and libraries, it can refer to materials that are not retrievable through normal catalog searches, possibly due to absence, damage, or non-digitization.

- In data-protection and compliance, data may become unabrufbar when it has been anonymized or pseudonymized, or when retention and privacy rules prevent retrieval of specific personal data.

Limitations and nuances: The meaning of unabrufbar is context-dependent and can be used loosely. It does not necessarily imply that the data does not exist elsewhere (such as in backups) or that retrieval would be illegal; it primarily signals that standard, direct retrieval is not possible under current conditions.

See also: abrufbar, Verfügbarkeit, Archivierung, Löschung, Datenzugriff.