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Confidentiel, anonyme, pseudonyme: French privacy words that differ

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Distinguish confidentiel, anonyme and pseudonyme with concrete French usage conditions showing who can identify a participant.

In short

Confidentiel concerns restricted access, anonyme concerns absence of identification, and pseudonyme uses a substitute name. In the examples below, a confidential file still contains names, and a pseudonym can remain linked to an identity through a separate key.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Conceptual privacy diagram: a closed access boundary, a completely detached anonymous circle and a coded circle linked to a separate identity key.
Access, identity and substitute names concern different privacy questions. Illustration: Atelier

These words answer different questions. Who can see the information? Can a person be identified? Is a substitute label used? Read the usage conditions rather than treating any one of the terms as a promise that no identifying information exists.

Three conditions

confidentielconfidential; access restrictedLe compte rendu nominatif est confidentiel : seules les deux coordinatrices y ont accès.
anonymeanonymous; identity not disclosed or identifiable in the stated materialLe résumé anonyme ne contient ni nom, ni coordonnées, ni détail permettant ici d’identifier les participants.
un pseudonymea substitute nameDans le compte rendu, Léa apparaît sous le pseudonyme « Iris ».
une table de correspondancea lookup table linking labels and identitiesUne table de correspondance relie « Iris » au nom de Léa.
un accès restreintrestricted accessL’accès restreint est réservé aux coordinatrices nommées.
une donnée identifiableinformation that can identify a personLe nom du seul médecin du village reste une donnée identifiable dans cet exemple.

Read what remains in each file

Trois documents issus du même atelier

Document A

ContenuNoms et commentaires complets.

AccèsDeux coordinatrices uniquement.

Document B

ContenuCommentaires sous des noms de remplacement.

Lien conservéUne clé séparée relie les pseudonymes aux noms.

Document C

ContenuSynthèse collective sans nom, contact ni détail distinctif.

Lien conservéAucune clé individuelle n’est conservée pour cette synthèse.

Question 1No account needed
Which document is confidential but explicitly named?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

A. A retains names and limits access. Confidentiality does not erase the names.

Question 2No account needed
Why should B not be described as wholly disconnected from identities?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

A separate key links the substitute names to real names.. The retained lookup key preserves an identity link, even if the displayed labels are pseudonyms.

Question 3No account needed
Which detail matters before calling a narrative anonymous?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Whether remaining details can still identify the person. Distinctive contextual information can identify someone even when their name is absent.

When explaining the arrangement, name the remaining information: Le public voit un pseudonyme ; les coordinatrices conservent une clé séparée. That is clearer than saying tout est anonyme. It also separates what the public can see from what the organisers retain.

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