Generalization

Hierarchical & Global Recoding
Binning & Aggregation
Micro-Aggregation & Rounding
Top/Bottom Coding

Hierarchical & Global Recoding

Transforms data into broader categories using a predefined hierarchy (e.g., replacing exact ages with age groups like “20-30”). This reduces data granularity, enhancing privacy while retaining meaningful information.

Binning & Aggregation

Groups numeric values into bins (e.g., income ranges) or aggregates data points to create summarized categories, limiting the precision of individual records and reducing re-identification risks.

Micro-Aggregation & Rounding

Clusters similar data points and replaces them with their average (micro-aggregation) or approximates values to the nearest round number. This minimizes individual-level details while preserving overall data trends.

Top/Bottom Coding

Caps extreme values at predefined limits (e.g., incomes above a certain threshold are recorded as “Above $200K”), protecting privacy for outliers while maintaining the dataset’s usability for analysis.