unsanitized

Unsanitized is an adjective describing something that has not undergone sanitization, the process of removing or reducing potentially harmful substances, identifiers, or content. The meaning of unsanitized varies by context.

In information technology and data management, unsanitized data or input refers to information that has not been cleaned, validated, de-identified, or otherwise processed to reduce risk. Without sanitization, data may retain PII or sensitive attributes, or include malformed or malicious content. Sanitization in these contexts aims to reduce privacy risks and prevent errors during storage, processing, or sharing.

In software development and web security, unsanitized user input can pose security risks when incorporated into queries, commands, or rendered output without proper handling. To mitigate this, developers use input validation, escaping, context-appropriate encoding, and parameterized interfaces, along with defensive practices such as least privilege and robust access controls.

In public health and environmental safety, unsanitized surfaces, equipment, water, or food may harbor pathogens, chemicals, or other contaminants. Sanitization procedures in these domains aim to reduce contamination to protect human health and safety.

Because the term is highly dependent on context, unsanitized generally signals a higher risk or lower quality until appropriate sanitization is applied. The concept underlines the broader principle that data, content, or environments should be cleaned, de-identified, or otherwise processed before use or distribution.