Web Analytics
Fundamentally, Analytics should add value to your business and empower your decision making, but not at the expense of your users privacy.
Google Analytics: The Privacy Risk Hiding in Plain Sight
Google Analytics may seem like a useful tool for website owners to track their visitors, but the amount of data collected and shared raises serious concerns about user privacy.
- It collects a significant amount of data on users, including information about their browsing history, demographics, and behaviour on a website. This data can be used to track users across the internet and build detailed profiles of their online activities.
- It uses cookies and other tracking technologies to collect data, which can be used to track users even when they are not actively using the website.
- Data is not always anonymous, and it may be possible to link the data to specific individuals.
- Data is often shared with third parties, such as advertisers, which can use the data to target users with personalised ads and content.
- It does not provide users with control over the data that is collected about them, and there is no easy way for users to opt out of data collection.
The Rise of Privacy-First Analytics
Fathom and Cabin are examples of privacy-first analytics tools, which are designed to provide website owners with insights about their visitors without compromising their privacy. These tools differ from traditional analytics tools such as Google Analytics in that they do not collect and store data that can be used to personally identify visitors, and they are designed to be compliant with data protection laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
“Privacy – like eating and breathing – is one of life’s basic requirements.”