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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryPrivacy & IdentityPrivacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs)

Privacy & Identity

Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs)

Techniques such as differential privacy and encryption that protect data during use.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Short answer

Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) are techniques that protect personal data while it is being used, such as differential privacy, encryption methods, secure multi-party computation and trusted execution environments. In marketing, they let companies collaborate on data, measure campaigns and build insights without exposing individual-level information.