# Masked categories

The full list of 26 personal data categories Siper masks, with short descriptions and synthetic examples; KVKK Article 6 special categories are marked.

Siper detects and masks 26 personal data categories in Turkish text. This page is the full list: next to each category you will find a short description and a synthetic example. Nine categories fall under the special categories of personal data defined in Article 6 of KVKK (Turkey’s personal data protection law); you will find them in a separate section.

All examples are synthetic and do not belong to any real person. In masked output, each category has its own placeholder; the API returns them with English names. For format details, see [Concepts](/docs/en/concepts/).

## General categories

| Category | Description | Synthetic example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Person | First and last name. | `Ahmet Yılmaz` |
| Address | Street, neighborhood, and full address details. | `Zambak Sk. No:4` |
| Birth date | Date of birth with day, month, and year. | `12.03.1981` |
| TCKN | TCKN (Turkish national ID number). | `10000000214` |
| YKN | Foreign national ID number; starts with 99. | `99…` |
| VKN | Tax ID number. | tax ID |
| MERSİS | Companies’ Central Registry System (MERSİS) number. | MERSİS no |
| SGK | Social Security Institution (SGK) registry number. | SGK registry no |
| Passport | Passport number. | `U1234…` |
| Serial no | ID card serial number. | ID serial |
| Phone (mobile) | Mobile phone number. | `0532 000 11 22` |
| Phone (landline) | Landline number. | `0212…` |
| Email | Email address. | `ayse.demir@ornek.gov.tr` |
| IBAN | Bank account number. | `TR33…` |
| Card | Payment card number. | `4111…` |
| License plate | Vehicle license plate. | `35 ABC 042` |
| IP address | IP address. | `10.1.2.3` |

## Special categories (KVKK Article 6)

The nine categories below fall under Article 6 of Law No. 6698. A category name on its own is not personal data; mentioning the concept of “union membership” and writing down a specific person’s union membership are different things. That is why every example in the table is a sentence, and the backticked part is the expression Siper masks in that sentence. All examples are synthetic and have been verified against the live service; no real belief, origin, party, or organization name appears.

| Category | Description | Example sentence and masked part |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Health | Diagnosis, treatment, and health status tied to a person. | Ayşe Demir’e `diyabet tanısı` kondu. |
| Religion | Statements about a person’s religious belief. | Çalışan, `dini inancı` gerekçesiyle izin talep etti. |
| Ethnic origin | Statements about a person’s ethnic origin. | Tanık, `etnik kökenine` yönelik ayrımcılığa uğradığını belirtti. |
| Political opinion | A person’s political opinion and party membership. | Başvuran, `Y Partisi üyeliğini` doğruladı. |
| Union membership | A person’s union membership. | Ahmet Yılmaz, `Örnek-İş Sendikası` üyesidir. |
| Criminal conviction | A person’s conviction and security measure information. | Müşteri, `adli sicil kaydı` bulunmadığını beyan etti. |
| Sex life | Statements about a person’s sex life. | Danışan, `cinsel yönelimini` görüşmede paylaştı. |
| Biometric | Biometric template and record codes; a code is masked only when it appears near a biometric context. | Parmak izi şablonu `FP-7788` sistemde kayıtlı. |
| Genetic | Gene and variant names tied to a person; a name is masked only within a genetic context. | `BRCA1` mutasyonu taşıdığı genetik testle doğrulandı. |

Siper errs on the side of caution in these categories: an expression like “diyabet tanısı” (diabetes diagnosis) may be masked even when the sentence does not tie it to a specific person. This is a deliberate choice; the risk of missing personal data outweighs the cost of masking a general expression unnecessarily. To exclude patterns specific to your organization that you are certain carry no personal data, use the `allow_patterns` field ([Mask-only usage → Pattern lists](/docs/en/guides/mask-only/#pattern-lists)).

If you want to narrow the scope, the `/mask` request offers predefined category sets; for example, `KVKK_SENSITIVE` masks only these nine categories. Details: [Mask-only usage → Category filtering](/docs/en/guides/mask-only/#category-filtering). To try the categories on your own text, use the [Playground](/docs/en/guides/playground/).