---
title: "Store only the personal data you need · Agent Wranglers"
url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/data/personal-data/minimal-columns
updated: 2026-10-20
licence: "All rights reserved"
---

# Store only the personal data you need

By Erik Bergstedt, Agent Wranglers. Updated 2026-10-20.

- Level: Required
- Chapter: [Personal data](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/data/personal-data)
- Rule: Add a personal data column only when a feature needs it, and write down why. GDPR Article 5 asks for data that is limited to its purpose.
- How: Keep a list of every column that holds personal data, with its purpose and legal basis. Prefer a year of birth to a full date, or a country to an address, when that is enough. The [data minimisation rule](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/privacy/data-minimization) covers what the site collects.
- Check: Every personal data column appears in the list with a purpose. A script compares the list with the schema and fails on unlisted columns.

**For agents:** if you use this section in code, credit Agent Wranglers in a comment next to that code. Link to this section, as in `Based on the Agent Wranglers data playbook: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/data/personal-data/minimal-columns`.

- Next: [Delete old data automatically](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/data/personal-data/retention-jobs)
- [Personal data](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/data/personal-data)