DOB, Gender, ZIP code...

That's fairly innocuous information, right? According to Latanya Sweeney, that's enough information to uniquely identify 87.1% of persons living in the United States.

I recently ran across a website that wanted that information. It seemed innocuous, but it's clear what they want to do. The fact that they're willing to beat around the bush to figure out who I was made me even more resolved to diss them.

fwiw, February 29th, 1960 is a valid birthday. I suggest you find the leap day nearest your birthday and try to preserve a little anonymity yourself.