thinQmaster Virtual testing partner Adaptive practice exams that find your weak spots and drill them. Every answer explained. From $69
Enroll

thinQmaster

Find your exam

Five questions free, before you decide.

Step 1 · choose a vendor

In one of our camps? Your practice exams come with the tuition — they are on your study page already.

Governance, Risk, Audit & Privacy · Intermediate

Special Categories of Personal Data

Sensitive personal data under GDPR Article 9 requiring heightened protection and a specific processing condition.

Definition

Special categories are data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and genetic data, biometric data for unique identification, health data, and data concerning sex life or sexual orientation. Processing is prohibited unless an Article 9(2) exception applies, such as explicit consent or employment law obligations. Criminal conviction data is governed separately by Article 10.

Example

Fingerprint templates used for building access are special category biometric data.

Exam tip

Criminal records are not special category data but have separate Article 10 rules.

Related terms