What is sensitive personal data?
By Advisorn · updated on 25 October 2026 · Art. 5 let. c, 6 para. 7, 22, 30 para. 2 let. c FADP, Art. 24 Data Protection Ordinance, Art. 9-10 GDPR
In short
It is the data the FADP lists in Art. 5 let. c: religious, ideological, political or trade union views or activities; health, the private sphere, racial or ethnic origin; genetic data; biometric data that uniquely identifies a person; administrative and criminal proceedings and sanctions; social assistance measures. Stricter rules apply to processing it, for example consent must be explicit when consent is needed (Art. 6 para. 7 FADP).
What changes when you process it
- if you rely on consent, it must be explicit (Art. 6 para. 7 let. a FADP);
- disclosing it to third parties is as a rule a breach of privacy and needs a ground for justification (Art. 30 para. 2 let. c and Art. 31 FADP);
- processing it on a large scale as a rule calls for a data protection impact assessment (Art. 22 para. 2 let. a FADP) and removes the exemption from the record below 250 employees (Art. 24 Data Protection Ordinance);
- the security measures must be stronger and, on a large scale, if preventive measures are not enough, the operations on the data must be logged (Art. 4 Data Protection Ordinance).
Where it is found in an SME
More often than one thinks: medical certificates and sick leave, trade union membership for payroll deductions, patient data in a medical or physiotherapy practice, extracts from the criminal record asked of job applicants, fingerprints for access control.
FADP and GDPR compared
| FADP (Switzerland) | GDPR (EU) | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Sensitive personal data (Art. 5 let. c) | Special categories of personal data (Art. 9) and criminal data (Art. 10) |
| Basic rule | Processing allowed if the principles are respected; stricter rules on consent and disclosure | Processing prohibited unless one of the exceptions of Art. 9 para. 2 applies |
| Social assistance measures | Included | Not included as such |
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