Data can be made anonymous by which action?

Making data anonymous involves ensuring that individuals are no longer identifiable from the data itself. The action that most directly accomplishes this is by destroying all identifiers connected to the data. When identifiers—such as names, social security numbers, or specific demographic details—are completely removed, the data can no longer be traced back to an individual, thereby providing true anonymity.

While other actions like aggregating data can help, they may still retain some identifying characteristics depending on how they are structured, thus not guaranteeing complete anonymity. Creating a secure database and limiting access to the data are important for protecting privacy and securing data; however, they do not inherently make the data anonymous. Without completely removing identifiers, the risk of re-identification remains, which is why destroying all identifiers is the most effective method for achieving anonymity in data.