Why it matters
Keeping every available field can enlarge the consequences of a later disclosure. A practical review asks which fields and files the task needs, who needs them, and how long the purpose continues.
A practical example
For a hypothetical project that needs aggregate counts, sharing individual genomic files may be unnecessary. A narrower output could answer the research question while leaving more sensitive material under the original controls.
An important distinction
Minimization is not simply making files smaller. Compression can preserve all the information, and a compact variant file can remain highly sensitive. The relevant issue is the information and access retained, not its storage size.
Sources and further reading
- PRIMARY SOURCE NIST: Genomic Data Threat Modeling
The example above is hypothetical. Related cases provide context; they do not imply that every case involved this mechanism.