Well depends on the definition of "Encryption". If encryption means that you are hide information from not allowed authorities and you say no one is allowed to see these numbers, than this is encryption.
Err, no. You don't get to pick your own definition for words.
Encryption is "the process of converting information or data into a code, especially to prevent unauthorized access". The main point being, it can be decrypted. You can't decrypt data that has been deleted.
If you want to remove information it's called e.g. "redacting" or "obscuring".
"Encryption is the process of converting data to an unrecognizable or "encrypted" form. It is commonly used to protect sensitive information so that only authorized parties can view it." (techterms.com/definition/encryption)
"In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding a message or information in such a way that only authorized parties can access it and those who are not authorized cannot." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encryption)
I would guess there are multiple definitions and not the one and only! I would not say that encryption is wrong in this context, but "data anonymization" would be the better wording here.
Well depends on the definition of "Encryption". If encryption means that you are hide information from not allowed authorities and you say no one is allowed to see these numbers, than this is encryption.
Err, no. You don't get to pick your own definition for words.
Encryption is "the process of converting information or data into a code, especially to prevent unauthorized access". The main point being, it can be decrypted. You can't decrypt data that has been deleted.
If you want to remove information it's called e.g. "redacting" or "obscuring".
"Encryption is the process of converting data to an unrecognizable or "encrypted" form. It is commonly used to protect sensitive information so that only authorized parties can view it." (techterms.com/definition/encryption)
"In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding a message or information in such a way that only authorized parties can access it and those who are not authorized cannot." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encryption)
I would guess there are multiple definitions and not the one and only! I would not say that encryption is wrong in this context, but "data anonymization" would be the better wording here.
"so that only authorized parties can view it" - you can't view it if you can't decrypt it
"encoding a message or information in such a way that only authorized parties can access it" - authorized parties can't decode XXX-XXXX
These are all the exact same thing.