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All glossary terms

Privacy & data

DPIA (Data Protection Impact Assessment)

A data protection impact assessment (DPIA) is a structured review of how a defined personal-data processing activity may affect people’s privacy. It records the processing, relevant risks, planned safeguards, and decisions under the process applicable to the organization.

Also known as DPIA, data protection impact assessment.

Why it matters in practice

A DPIA can bring privacy concerns into design and help teams explain why a processing choice is necessary and how risks are handled. Whether one is required and what it must contain depend on the applicable framework and facts. It should reflect the real processing, not a generic product description.

Example

A team describes a new analytics flow, identifies the personal data and access roles involved, and records mitigations for risks found during review.

Educational note

This definition is general information, not legal advice. It may omit facts that matter to a specific situation and does not establish or guarantee compliance.