Events can garner a near endless amount of attendee information. The trick is knowing how to use it wisely, legally and ethically. Data is big business. Event planners have several tools at their disposal to collect data to improve events while they happen—in the future—and provide concrete stats to clients and sponsors. But you also have to be extremely careful that any data you gather is done so with approval and is securely stored. Read on to learn what you can collect, how to do it and the importance of privacy and security.

“You could technically collect almost anything you want [about attendees],” says Jillian Wood, senior marketing manager at Toronto-based EventMobi. This includes everything from names, job titles and whether or not they’ve attended before to travel documents and credit card info. “Any information that can identify a person is the tricky stuff,” she adds. Here’s what to consider at the various stages of the process.

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