We understand that the WP Google Maps plugin does not directly share any information with Google, however, the plugin does make use of the Google Maps API and in doing so, for certain features such as Geolocation as an example, the Google Maps API requires a users IP information in order to make use of the Geolocation features.
Can someone let us know if Google shares the visitor information (particularly Visitor IP information)?
Here is our flow -
We are using market cluster in map
Map has been linked into custom post type “Case studies”
All the Post’s locations categorized under marker categories
We are using search by keywords and search filter by categories
Info window has been customized to display a few custom fields in the window
From the terms of service.
4.4 Data Use, Protection, and Privacy.
4.4.1 Data Use and Retention. To provide the Services through the Customer Application(s), Google collects and receives data from Customer and End Users (and End Users’ End Users, if any), including search terms, IP addresses, and latitude/longitude coordinates. Customer acknowledges and agrees that Google and its Affiliates may use and retain this data to provide and improve Google products and services, subject to the Google Privacy Policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
4.4.2 European Data Protection Terms. Google and Customer agree to the Google Maps Controller-Controller Data Protection Terms at https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms/maps-controller-terms.
4.4.3 End User Requirements.
(a) End User Privacy. Customer’s use of the Services in the Customer Application will comply with applicable privacy laws, including laws regarding Services that store and access Cookies on End Users’ devices. Customer will comply with the then-current Consent Policy at https://www.google.com/about/company/user-consent-policy.html, if applicable.
(b) End User Personal Data. Through the normal functioning of the Google Maps Core Services, End Users provide personally identifiable information and Personal Data directly to Google, subject to the then-current Google Privacy Policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/. (a) However, Customer will not provide to Google (i) any End User’s personally identifiable information; or (ii) any European End User’s Personal Data (where “European” means “European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the UK”).
(c) End User Location Privacy Requirements. To safeguard End Users’ location privacy, Customer will ensure that the Customer Application(s): (i) notify End Users in advance of (1) the type(s) of data that Customer intends to collect from the End Users or the End Users’ devices, and (2) the combination and use of End User's location with any other data provider's data; and (ii) will not obtain or cache any End User's location except with the End User's express, prior, revocable consent.
Related
I'm (very) new to Google Analytics and somewhat to API's - so excuse my ignorance.
I'm trying to understand if there is a way to get a list of all users (who visited our site) that have an accompanying unique ID. A unique ID that would allow me, for example, to create a relationship between the user and their location, or the user and their device.
Using the query explorer I cannot see if this is possible.
No, Google analytics does not store user identifiable information in this manner.
If you are storing your internal system user id ad a custom dimension then you could get that back.
You should consult Best practices to avoid sending Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
To protect user privacy, Google policies mandate that no data be passed to Google that Google could use or recognize as personally identifiable information (PII). PII includes, but is not limited to, information such as email addresses, personal mobile numbers, and social security numbers. Because laws across countries and territories vary, and because Google Analytics can be used in many ways, consult an attorney if you are in doubt whether certain information might constitute PII or not.
I am new to Google Analytics.
We would like the analysis of our data data to focus on specific brand promotion, in my application I have the data from twitter, facebook and instagram. I would like to track user activity and collect data on click event such as
Title of the post
date of the post
channel(twitter,facebook,instagram)
etc.
I want to use an application unique user id and analyze the data based on a specific userid.
I have read custom Variables in Google Analytics, but I am not sure about how much analytics will help me to tracked above information.
From the Google Analytics Terms of Service:
Privacy.
You will not (and will not allow any third party to) use the Service
to track, collect or upload any data that personally identifies an
individual (such as a name, email address or billing information), or
other data which can be reasonably linked to such information by
Google. You will have and abide by an appropriate Privacy Policy and
will comply with all applicable laws, policies, and regulations
relating to the collection of information from Visitors.
That being said if your website has a Userid that can not be used to directly map back to a user. You could place that user id into a custom dimension.
You need only configure it in your Google analytics account then add a tracking code like this to your site
ga('set', 'dimension1', 'XXXXXXXX');
Then you will be able to use user id as a secondary dimension in most of the Reports on the website.
The docs describe the clientId as:
This anonymously identifies a particular user, device, or browser instance.
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/protocol/v1/parameters#cid
It can be used to send server side hits to analytics while still tying them to a particular user.
There is also a feature in closed beta called userId, which you will be able to pass once a user has authenticated: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/user-id
userId is fairly self-explanatory. However, UA also allows you to pass your own clientid if you choose to. For developing CRM type tools, can one just associate the clientid with a user in the same way that you would with a userid? The goal is primarily to be able to track offline interactions and connect them with visitors in Analytics.
maembe,
clientID is a random number generated by Google Analytics, and keep in mind it's always required and its value should always be a random UUID (version 4) (you could technically use your own, but I am not sure how practical and reliable this would be). Most importantly, you can easily access it with predefined get function (see documentation).
For your needs, this is exactly what you should do -- if someone sings ups, store ClientID in your CRM and then if there is any offline purchase, record the transactions with measurement protocol using the stored clientID. Google Analytics will then make the link (attribution) with that visitor and you will see this in your reports. Also, take advantage of newly available custom metrics and dimensions which can store pretty much anything you want (think of customer segmentation etc.). Beware of storing PII though.
Hope this helps :)
I am curious how UserID is going to work, it might change everything, but for now, I wouldn't rely on it as there is very little information available.
This Analytics support page now states the differences between Client ID and User ID - https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6205850?hl=en#clientid-userid
Essentially client IDs represent unauthenticated users, and are automatically randomly generated.
User IDs represent authenticated users, and must be set manually.
It's worth noting that user IDs cannot be things like an email address, or other data that would allow Google to identify the user
You will not upload any data that allows Google to personally identify an individual (such as certain names, Social Security Numbers, email addresses, or any similar data), or data that permanently identifies a particular device (such as a unique device identifier if such an identifier cannot be reset).
If you upload any data that allows Google to personally identify an individual, your Google Analytics account can be terminated, and you may lose your Google Analytics data.
Taken from: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/protocol/policy
I'd imagine User ID is designed to differentiate the behavior of an authenticated user. here
I would like to track the user id of the logged in users of my web app (asp.net) using Google analytic ?
Some idea how to get this ?
It believe this is not allowed by Google terms
From the GA Terms of Service: http://www.google.com/intl/en/analytics/tos.html
PRIVACY . You will not (and will not allow any third party to) use the Service to track or collect personally identifiable information of
Internet users, nor will You (or will You allow any third party to)
associate any data gathered from Your website(s) (or such third
parties' website(s)) with any personally identifying information from
any source as part of Your use (or such third parties' use) of the
Service. You will have and abide by an appropriate privacy policy and
will comply with all applicable laws relating to the collection of
information from visitors to Your websites. You must post a privacy
policy and that policy must provide notice of your use of a cookie
that collects anonymous traffic data.
I have a PHP (5+) based website.
I want to track registered users of my site using Google Analytics. I basically just wish to grab their session id (or some way to identify each specific user)and view their movements and site usage from my Google Analytics dashboard.
Can this be done? If so, any guidance would be most welcome.
I believe the best way to do this is via a custom variable:
_setCustomVar(index, name, value, opt_scope)
It would be up to you to identify the 'value' as a unique session id for the user.
The scope in your case would be either session(2) or visitor(1) depending on how you want to track it.
http://code.google.com/intl/en/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingCustomVariables.html#setup
Technically you are able to store the username as a custom variable, but doing so violates the Google Analytics Terms of Service (ToS). Among other things, the (paraphrased) ToS states that you aren't allowed to store anything in Google Analytics that allows you to identify who the visitor is. This typically applies to usernames, IP addresses, phone numbers, etc.
If you decide to ignore the ToS and store the data anyway, it exposes YOU (not Google) to all kinds of data protection & PII laws. Especially in the EU.
If you have some budget money to work with, the best way to see the information you're looking for is to use an on premises web analytics software package that can process Google Analytics data. When you keep your data on premises, it alleviates many of the data privacy / protection / PII laws.