Personal Data
Personal data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable person. The obvious examples are a name, email address, or phone number, but it also covers things that can single someone out in combination — a username tied to a profile photo, or a handle plus a location. Privacy laws like the GDPR and CCPA build their rules around this definition.
Crucially, data can be personal even when it is public. An email a creator publishes in their bio is public data, but it is also personal data because it identifies that person. The two labels answer different questions: "public" is about who can access it; "personal" is about whether it points to an individual.
That overlap is why responsible data collection matters. Gathering public personal data — say, creator contact details for outreach — is common and widely done, but the moment you store or use information about identifiable people, privacy laws may apply to how you handle it, regardless of the fact that it was public. In short, treat public personal data with the same care you would want applied to your own — that is both the compliant instinct and the practical one.
What it means for 1Scrape users
Much of what a lead-gen scrape returns is public personal data — a creator's username, follower count, and the email in their public bio. 1Scrape only collects what is already public, but you are the one who decides how it gets used, so it is on you to follow the privacy and anti-spam laws that apply to your outreach. Keep it relevant, honor opt-outs, and do not spam. General information, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can public information be personal data?
Yes. If it identifies an individual — a name, an email, or a username linked to a person — it is personal data even when it is publicly visible. Being public does not remove it from the scope of privacy laws like the GDPR or CCPA.