Anonymity

For humans, anonymity is the state of one's personal identity or personally identifiable information being hidden or unknown.

Related Topics:
Personal identity - Personally identifiable information

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Rigorous studies in cryptography define a group of possible sources called the "anonimity set". If it is not distinguishable which entity in the anonymity set has sent the message, then the source is anonymous.

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Anonymity is often distinguished from pseudonymity. Purely anonymous messages have no identifying features, which makes it unclear whether or not several different messages have been sent by the same source. When continuity is useful or desired, a distinguishing characteristic (but one which does not link the source to their birth name, residence, etc.) may be chosen, such as a pseudonym, to establish which previously encountered source has sent the message. Similar techniques may be used for in-person encounters, such as wearing a unique piece of clothing, or exposing one's face without giving one's name or other personally identifiable information.

Related Topics:
Pseudonymity - Pseudonym - Personally identifiable information

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In casual conversation, many people do not distinguish between anonymity and pseudonymity, since the effect of obscuring the subject's "conventional" identity is the same.

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The problem of determining whether or not the identity of a communication partner is the same as one previously encountered is the problem of authentication.

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