Common misconceptions about differential privacy

Differential privacy (DP) is not an algorithm but a standard that algorithms must meet to ensure data privacy. It does not provide blanket protection for all sensitive information and is not suitable for every analysis, particularly outlier analysis or studying small populations. The term "differentially private data" can be ambiguous and should be clarified based on the specific algorithm used. DP is designed to allow aggregate information about large populations to be shared safely while cleverly hiding individuals in a crowd.