In this growing time of marketing, there is a dire need to increase the advertisement and popularity of an entity. To achieve this target, design website usage data that can throw a fantastic pitch for any startup or business.
To optimize any website one can make use of Google Analytics to increase the SEO of their website.
1. What is Google Analytics?
One of the significant requirements for any website is Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a web analytics service that keeps track of the traffic of any website by providing statistics and essential analytical tools for marketing purposes and search engine optimization.
Google Analytics is a dominant tool to check a website’s performance and can also check visitor insights. It can also help analyze Google Analytics customers’ behaviour, which benefits medium-sized and small-sized websites.
2. What Data Does Google Analytics Prohibit Collecting?
Google Analytics maintains strict guidelines regarding the types of data it prohibits from collecting. The following are types of data that are prohibited-
2.1. Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
Don’t collect any personal information of users at any cost. Avoid these data types to ensure the privacy of users—the data that lead directly or indirectly to the identification of an individual fall under this category.
Following are some items to the category – names, email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers, billing addresses, and some information that can be personal.
2.2. IP Address
Although Google Analytics has the function to collect IP addresses, it also recommends website owners mask their IP addresses. This suggestion is made to prevent any unintentional disclosure of information or invasion of privacy.
The functionality related to concealing IP addresses should be implemented, which modifies IPv4 users’ IP addresses by fixing the last octet to zeros and IPv6 addresses by nullifying the last 80 bits.
2.3. User IDs
In Google Analytics, users are assigned a User ID consisting of a unique alphanumeric character set. It allows them to have their own identity to connect their behaviour across different sessions and on various platforms.
To ensure the necessary privacy, we only share this unique ID with the explicit consent of the respective user. Typically, sharing such data is not allowed because Google Analytics has the potential to collect and transmit data that could jeopardize the privacy of its current users.
Google Analytics can use this type of data to collect and send information, which poses a privacy threat to existing users. This type of data is not generally allowed to be shared as Google Analytics can collect and send data, leading to the threat of privacy to existing users.
2.4. Health Information
According to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), regulated entities avoid using Google Analytics for any data that can be claimed as ‘Protected Health Information(PHI).’ However, it is not explained as a part of PII in Google policies or contracts.
Any authenticated page can fall under HIPAA coverage, and Google Analytics customers should avoid placing Google Analytics tags on such pages.
2.5. Cross-Domain Tracking
This fascinating term in Google Analytics is a process of keeping track of Google Analytics customers of a website and activities related to cross domains or multiple domains they use.
This process functions effectively only when the exact Google Analytics property tracks destination domains/websites and outbound activities.
2.5.1. Setting Up Cross-domain Tracking
- Open Google Analytics and go to the property of the website.
- Choose the Admin option.
- Choose tracking Info.
- Referral Execution.
- Add the domain of the outbound website.
- Add each domain to the list if there are multiple domains.
2.6. Sensitive Demographic Information
Every individual has their identity and private life. Nobody has the right to hinder that privacy. If we are to use Google Analytics for the advertisement features, then we become solely responsible for their protection of data legislation.
We can only share any sensitive information if we have the visitors’ consent to our website. Google Analytics cannot provide accurate demographic information.
Anyone using Google Analytics ad features should abide by this policy. Without the consent of the user, they should not break data that has been bonded with the website.
2.7. Racial or Ethnic Information
Today’s world believes in equality, but we are all connected to our roots deep down. Every person’s information is private, and if they wish to keep it safe, they prohibit data collection related to the user’s race, ethnicity, or other protected characteristics.
Google Analytics doesn’t create user profiles to monitor people visiting web pages or applications.
It is not permissible to use this for displaying ads that may rely on sensitive information such as health, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and so on.
2.8. Financial Information
Any data that seems to be related to financial transactions, including credit card numbers, bank account details, or other financial data, shouldn’t be taken using Google Analytics.
One can feel safe knowing they are the only ones who know their confidential financial information, and there is no risk of it getting leaked.
2.9. Information about Location
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that can help analyze and seek information about any user. It helps detect the geographical location of the website. This tool can provide proof in any criminal case and can even provide with utmost safety.
Google Analytics can be even helpful if there have to be any records present for any mishappenings. As criminal cases are increasing in every part of the world, it has become a dire need to keep track of the location of each individual.
Although Google Analytics has the power to track the location of any website user, Google Analytics cannot send this information anywhere without the permission or knowledge of the user.
2.10. Data of Children
Developers have created Google Analytics to analyze a website’s performance and enhance its search engine optimization (SEO). Today, various websites exist, from adult to kids’ websites.
As every website has registration criteria, for a child, there can be login credentials. Google Analytics can also collect these data.
The question of what data Google Analytics prohibits collecting has a clear answer: it prohibits the collection of any information on individuals aged below 13.
This prohibition is by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which expressly forbids collecting any information about individuals aged below 13.
Under COPPA, this rule states that it is prohibited to collect any kind of information on individuals aged below 13.
Final Words
In conclusion, Google Analytics enforces strict restrictions on the types of data that can be collected to safeguard user privacy and promotes responsible data handling.
It prohibits the collection of any personally identifiable information, including billing details, personal user information, credit card information, passport numbers, and precise location data. Google Analytics doesn’t support the tracking of sensitive demographic information.
Google Analytics imposes severe consequences in case of policy violations or a lack of seriousness in handling privacy concerns. This consequence can even lead to the suspension of the Google Analytics account.
Google Analytics indeed collects IP Addresses, but it strictly prohibits using this data to identify users. Furthermore, we only permit the tracking of users across diverse domains for cross-domain purposes when the user consents.
The owner of a website, marketing people, and data analysts need to keep themselves updated with Google’s evolving policies and rules, as policies can change with time to adapt to new privacy regulations and requirements of the standards of the industry.
To ensure the continuous availability and functionality of Google Analytics as a vital tool for the performance of a website compilation these policies aids in protecting user privacy.
Therefore, regular users of Google Analytics must always try to prioritize ethical and responsible data collection practices, respecting the user’s privacy rights and adhering to relevant legal requirements in their respective regions.
FAQs
Q1. What are some Google Analytics terms?
Users, pageviews, conversion rates, referral traffic, bounce rates, and average session durations are some of the Google Analytics terms.
Q2. How can one avoid data leakage in Google Analytics?
To avoid this risk, specific steps and precautions must be taken. Activities include excluding internal traffic, using filters, using Google Tag Manager, regularly reviewing data collection practices, reviewing third-party agreements, etc.
Q3. What are Google Ad requests?
In Google Analytics, this term is related to the flow of sending a request from a web page or mobile app to an ad server to display any advertisement.
With this tracking of ad requests and the relation of user interaction, one can make decisions according to data to optimize their advertising efforts and improve their website and app performance.
Last Updated on by Janhavi Ramesh Kowligi
