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Google Analytics alternative that protects your data and your customers' privacy

matomo.org

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Re: Google Analytics alternative that protects your data and your customers' privacy

#11
post #8

Matomo is not trivial run on prem, there are lots of stuff that do not work on larger installs unless you do lots of manual optimization, what those optimizations are is not obvious. The problems only shows after some time when you have to redo reports for multiyear periods, or handle hug of death. That said people love analytics, it is a powerful tool.

Any links? I'm assuming you mean something more than the periodic rollups?

Re: Google Analytics alternative that protects your data and your customers' privacy

#12
I wish some of the privacy focused GA alternatives had SOC 2 reports, or ISO 27001. We’re working towards our first SOC 2, which makes it hard to incorporate anything without one into our product.

On prem is a lot of work, and not something i want to approach lightly.

Re: Google Analytics alternative that protects your data and your customers' privacy

#13
I'm using the matomo self hosted version and like it overall. I love you can track all outbound clicks without having to specifically add Dom elements to outbound links to make this possible. Unfortunately matomo is blocked just like Google Analytics by every ad/tracking blocker. Doesn't matter if you host it yourself and only track global stats vs tracking users across the web like GA does. The only solution seems to be writing your own analytics.

Re: Google Analytics alternative that protects your data and your customers' privacy

#14
post #5

Why is this at the top of HN?

Analytics are widely used in communication departments in European enterprise, and where that previously was very often Google Analytics, it’s hard to use it because of Google’s inability/unwillingness to change their enterprise targeting business model to be GDPR compliant. I’m not personally convinced you really need an analytics tool in most European communications departments. As long as saying something like that is akin to heresy, however, I think it’s safe to say that a lot of people are interested in alternatives to Google Analytics.

It’s likely not just in Europe anymore. Privacy seems to be a tend that is on the increase everywhere. But as I understand it, things move to the top of HN if they are interesting to a lot of people, and privacy is interesting to a lot of people these years. Not just to the “nerds” either, at least I tend to see more and more discussion on it outside of tech circles. In the EU specific you do have the very real “motivation” of dropping Google Analytics because using it puts you in the lovely area of breaking the law.

Re: Google Analytics alternative that protects your data and your customers' privacy

#15
post #4

More alternatives: https://european-alternatives.eu/alternative-to/google-analy...

Half of the "alternatives" there are dead (website is offline) and the rest is not free. Those are hardly alternatives, more like band-aid solutions.

A paid alternative to a free service is still an alternative.

They may not be alternatives you like, but they are alternatives. And for many people a paid option may be better once they start looking at why the free thing is free.

Re: Google Analytics alternative that protects your data and your customers' privacy

#16

I'm using the matomo self hosted version and like it overall. I love you can track all outbound clicks without having to specifically add Dom elements to outbound links to make this possible. Unfortunately matomo is blocked just like Google Analytics by every ad/tracking blocker. Doesn't matter if you host it yourself and only track global stats vs tracking users across the web like GA does. The only solution seems t…

You can usually rename the tracker to something that's not on the blocklist.

Re: Google Analytics alternative that protects your data and your customers' privacy

#18
Ideally the different self-hosted web stacks would have built-in analytics that would not have to hit the client with javascript. But they don't, or if they do each has its own inconsistent approach to as what data is collected and how it is presented. So the second best if you care about your user's privacy (and, if applicable, your own commercial or institutional privacy) is something like matomo.

Re: Google Analytics alternative that protects your data and your customers' privacy

#20
Beware, Matomo by default isn't very privacy friendly, you will need the GDPR banner for any advanced features.

If you want a GDPR compliant analytics you have to disable many of its flagship features, or use something else like Plausible, designed to work with no consent.

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