If you’re one of the many people who use Google Analytics to monitor your website’s page views you will have recently received several emails asking you to “Take action on your Google Analytics account” as it’s long-standing Universal Analytics tracker retires on July 1st.
Users are being urged to upgrade to the new Google Analytics 4 before the old script stops working at the end of June.
Long time readers may remember I no longer recommend using Google Analytics due to the vast amounts of personal data it hoovers up whenever someone views a site with it on.
- Privacy issues aside, the general feedback I’ve heard on GA4’s user interface is… not good.
- Plus, due to it’s invasive nature GA is now treated as an advertising script and blocked by several browsers including Safari, Firefox and Brave which is a big chunk of people!
- Combined with GA’s habit of logging loads of bot traffic I don’t feel the data it tracks is actually accurate and useful for businesses any more.
So if you are mulling over upgrading to GA4 now could be a good opportunity to look for a new analytics solution.
I’ve personally been using Fathom Analytics, a privacy-focussed alternative to GA that measures page views without tracking personal data, for several years now and not looked back. You can learn more in my article Fathom vs Google Analytics.
You can also find plenty of other analytics options over on the Below Radar website.
Either way, whether you’re upgrading or switching, don’t forget to do it before July 1st!
Elsewhere on the Internet
- Will Digital Detoxing Bring Back My Attention Span? – Fans of digital minimalism will learn a lot from Illustrator and general legend Molly Newport‘s experiences cutting back on her tech use to improve her quality of life.
- Writing for Sustainability – Becky Thorn of Comma Chameleon explains how conscious copywriting can help your website’s eco-credentials.
- ChatGPT needs to ‘drink’ a water bottle’s worth of fresh water for every 20 to 50 questions you ask – not only do Large Language Models require incomprehensible amounts of energy to function, this article by Business Insider explains they also need loads of water to stop them overheating.