§ 3a sent. 1 of the old version of the German Federal Data Protection Act contained the aim of Datenvermeidung (= Data Avoidance):

"Personal data shall be collected, processed and used, and data processing systems shall be chosen and organized in accordance with the aim of collecting, processing and using as little personal data as possible."

§ 3a sent. 2 of the old version of the German Federal Data Protection Act required Datensparsamkeit (= Data Parsimony):

"In particular, personal data shall be rendered anonymous or aliased as allowed by the purpose for which they are collected and/or further processed, and as far as the effort required is not disproportionate to the desired purpose of protection."

Data avoidance and data parsimony are not to be confused with the principle of data minimisation [Tile PC.11] according to Art. 5 I c GDPR:

While data avoidance and data parsimony make the non-processing of personal data an end in itself ("as little as possible"), data minimisation requires "only" processing adequate to the purpose of processing.