Export de-identification is the removal of personal details from a fitness tracker download. Heart-rate and sleep readings count as health data under UK GDPR Art. 9. anonym.plus does this on your own device and keeps the activity series whole.
When this applies
A tracker download bundles steps and sleep with the account email and a hardware identifier. Before research reuse, those personal handles have to go.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the download in anonym.plus on a local device.
- It finds the account email, name, and hardware identifier.
- The step, sleep, and pulse series stay untouched.
- Swap the personal parts with the map turned off.
- Save the anonymous file on your machine.
What you need to provide
- The download (CSV, JSON, or zipped export).
- Replace with the re-link map off for anonymity.
- Optional column map for account and device fields.
Patient data entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | account holder → [USER] |
| Contact | EMAIL_ADDRESS | login email → [EMAIL] |
| Identifiers | ID | hardware ID → [DEVICE] |
| Network | IP_ADDRESS | sync IP → [IP] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | daily timestamp → [TIME] |
| Location | LOCATION | GPS city → [PLACE] |
Compliance achieved
- Strips UK GDPR Art. 9 health personal data from the download.
- Account, hardware, and IP handles are caught as direct identifiers.
- True anonymity puts the file outside UK GDPR scope by Recital 26.
Anonymise wearable data exports offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
GPS traces and timestamps can re-identify even with no name, since a daily route is unique. Drop precise location and shift the times. Keep no re-link key if you need the result to stay anonymous under the ICO motivated-intruder test.
Frequently asked questions
Why are heart-rate and sleep entries health records?
They reveal a person’s physical state, which UK GDPR Art. 9 treats as special-category health information needing a legal basis to use.
Are GPS points removed?
They are flagged as location data. A precise route is a strong clue, so swap or coarsen it for true anonymity.
Does this run without the maker’s cloud?
Yes. Work on the downloaded file directly on your device, with no maker account or upload.