Metadata can be hugely beneficial for legal professionals looking to understand details, such as when a file was created, where a photo was taken or when a document was last modified.
It’s vital for those involved in litigation to understand what metadata is and how to handle and use it effectively. In this blog post, we’ll define metadata, explore whether metadata can be labelled personal data and discuss its implication on litigation.
- Defining metadata
- The implications of GDPR
- Types of metadata that websites can collect
- What implications can metadata have on litigation?
- Get the latest insights on data in litigation
Defining metadata
Metadata is often referred to as data that describes other data. It’s structured data that helps sort information by different attributes.
Metadata summarises basic information about data which can make it easier to find and use. By having the ability to search for data by a specific element, the process of locating documents becomes more straightforward.
For example, metadata allows you to organise documents by creation date, modified date and file name.
As well as document files, metadata is used in:
- Images
- Videos
- Audio files
- Web pages
- Computer files
- Spreadsheets
Metadata on web pages can be important in describing what the page contains and linking keywords to its content. It plays a role in the content displayed by search engine results pages (SERPs), meaning the accuracy of a page’s metadata can influence whether or not a user visits the page.
Metadata is created every time a document, information asset or file is made, modified or deleted. It helps us understand data's nature, structure and context, allowing for simple location and retrieval.
