The purpose of data anonymization in privacy protection is to remove personally identifiable information from datasets, ensuring that individuals' identities remain confidential. This process is crucial for organizations handling sensitive data, enabling them to utilize the information for analysis and insights without compromising privacy. Anonymization techniques include data masking, generalization, and aggregation. By safeguarding privacy, data anonymization not only complies with regulations like the GDPR, but also helps maintain consumer trust, allowing organizations to harness valuable data responsibly.