anonymize

verb

anon·​y·​mize ə-ˈnä-nə-ˌmīz 

variants also British anonymise

anonymized; anonymizing

transitive verb

: to remove identifying information from (something, such as computer data) so that the original source cannot be known : to make (something) anonymous

There's an incredible amount of data in your travel profile. So they improved security and created a sophisticated way to anonymize data.

—Dana Hawkins

anonymization noun

also British anonymisation

ə-ˌnä-nə-mə-ˈzā-shən 

anonymizer noun

also British anonymiser

Examples of anonymize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Results should be anonymized and ideally benchmarked across time. —Cynthia Pong, Forbes.com, 18 May 2025

Most crypto purchases are recorded on a public ledger called the blockchain, with the buyers and sellers largely anonymized. —Eric Lipton, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

Ciaccia’s company analyzed 350 million anonymized Florida Medicaid claims to produce a 2020 report that found pharmacy benefit managers were paying their own pharmacies much more to dispense drugs than their competitors. —Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 17 Mar. 2025

The key to collecting data while maintaining customer privacy is to effectively log all customer interactions on your website/product and then anonymize the data that can be tied back to specific people. —Puneet Yamparala, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

anonym(ous) + -ize

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for anonymize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize