Which data privacy technique is used to protect employees' email addresses when creating a report?

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Masking is used to protect employees' email addresses in a report while keeping the data readable enough for analysis. It obfuscates parts of the address so the exact value isn’t exposed, for example by replacing characters with asterisks or by showing only the domain. This preserves enough structure for useful analytics—like counting by domain or identifying duplicates—without revealing the full address.

Hashing would convert the email into a fixed, unreadable string that isn’t practical to interpret in a report and can complicate cross-checks. Encryption hides data behind a key, which means you’d need the key to view the emails, not ideal for a shared report. Anonymization could remove identifying information entirely, which might strip away useful context in the report. Masking hits the right balance by protecting privacy while maintaining enough detail for meaningful analysis.