Privacy by Design
An approach where privacy considerations are embedded into systems and processes from the design phase.
Privacy by Design is a framework developed by Ann Cavoukian that requires privacy to be built into systems, processes, and products from the outset, rather than added as an afterthought. It is mandated by GDPR (Article 25) as 'Data Protection by Design and by Default.' The seven foundational principles are: proactive not reactive, privacy as the default setting, privacy embedded into design, full functionality (positive-sum), end-to-end security, visibility and transparency, and respect for user privacy. In practice, this means: conducting privacy impact assessments before launching new products, implementing data minimization, using pseudonymization and anonymization where possible, building granular consent mechanisms, and designing systems that can handle data subject requests.