It is important to understand that the term ‘data’ encompasses a very large and non-exhaustive list of any personal information held by any company, institution or State body.
A few examples are of
- Hospitals and clinic retain medical records and client information,
- Banks retain personal information, credit history, information about financial transactions,
- Solicitors retain files containing a large amount of personal information such as identification, bank statements, etc,
- State bodies retain personal information such as your name address, PPS number,
- If you are signed up to a gym or a recruitment agency they will retain a large amount of your personal information on their data bases.
In brief, every time you fill out a form or sign up for anything online, you disclose your personal information without any knowledge of how it may be used in the future.