Is there any way to create user profile using google analytics(gtag.js) like we do in cleverTap using clevertap.profile.push ?
While it might be technically possible via clever use of custom dimensions, it would violate Google's terms of service.
You will not and will not assist or permit any third party to, pass information to Google that Google could use or recognize as
personally identifiable information.
Basically the only personally identifiable data you are allowed to
store is a (at least) SHA256 hash of an email address (to use e.g. as
user id. At least under the rules of the GDPR this would count as
PII).
So the question is moot. Even if you could, you mustn't.
Related
I am about to send an user's email address via dataLayer.push(), I was wondering if there are any dataLayer restrictions that I should be aware of?
for instance, in Google Analytics, it is not recommended to send email addresses or any PII(Personally identifiable information).
Is it a good idea to send email address, first and last name via dataLayer.push()?
I was not able to get any definitive answers online. Maybe someone can shed a light here. Thanks
Datalayer.push will not do anything with the data except putting it into a variable that is local to the browser. So at this point there is not harm done, and there is not legal or otherwise prohibition to do so (which is what you are asking).
Of course having it on the dataLayer does not do anything by itself.
The question is what you are going to do with the data, and that depends on your jurisdiction (in Europe the GDPR applies, other countries have their own privacy laws) and how the TOS for your tracking tools look like (e.g. in GA you cannot have PII, even if the GDPR or comparable laws do not apply in your country).
But for example if you have consenting users, and storing their email address is essential for delivering the service you are advertising on the page, then pushing this to the dataLayer and using it for your essential purpose should be fine (IANAL).
Also, once the data is in a variable, every other tracking tool that you have implemented on your page can access the value even without your knowledge (but then they can already read it from input fields or other elements in the page code, so that doesn't add much to the danger).
I asked this question in other forums, and didn't have a solution so far.
I would like to have Google Analytics' source and medium added in every form sent by my websites, as hidden fields.
I use WordPress, and the plugings that I commonly use for contact forms are Contact Form 7 and Fast Secure Contact Form.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance!
-- Gabriel
There isn't really a way.
It used to be that channel attribution was computed in the GA tracking code in the client, and you could extract it from the cookie values. However since Google has switched to the measurement protocol (which is what's behind both analytics.js and gtag.js) attribution is determined on the Google servers and there is no really feasible way to get the information in realtime to include it in a form.
You could create a script that emulates GA attribution, but the rules are somewhat complex and it is unlikey you would get an exact match.
Another way (which, if you are in Europe, might bring you in conflict with the new privacy guidelines from march on) would be to save a unique token with the form, send the same token as custom dimension to Google Analytics, and then join the information after the fact via the API. Some time ago I described the process in a tutorial, and even if this is for salesforce (and the specific code most certainly obsolete) it describes the problem and the solution somewhat exhaustively.
I am searching for a way to track user behavior on my website. I want to know if it is possible to get a table with data looking something like this:
+------+---------------+-----------------+------+---------+
| time | ip or user_id | user_session_id | link | actions |
+------+---------------+-----------------+------+---------+
(Link - where user came from)
I want to track different user actions by sessions. Is this possible using Google Analytics or I should search other tools? My site is currently set up to track events but on my Analytics account I get only the number of events that occurred. I want to track what a specific user does on my site.
tl;dr: if you must do this use Mixpanel or similar software.
Time based dimensions are already available (date, hour, minutes and datetime). "link" would be referrer. Actions in Google Analytics are basically pageviews, events and transactions, so you have that, too.
IP and user id are a big no-gos. Storing anything that that identifies a person is a violation of Googles Terms of Service and depending on your location might be a violation of national laws.And if by user_id you mean the Google Analytics feature of the same name, Google says you may set it for logged in users and have to unset it for user that log out, so by extension that means storing it in Ga would probably be a violation of their TOS.
The GA session id is not exposed via the interface. You may read it from the cookie and store it in a custom dimension (I'm not sure if this is allowed within the TOS, on the other hand GA premium customers get this via a BigQuery export in any case, so it should be allowed).
If you simply want to tell different users apart you might simply generate a string in the UUID format and store that in a custom dimension. If you want to actually identify users (by name, adress etc), well, you are not allowed to and Google will terminate your account if they find out.
Not to mention that it completely eludes why so many people want to track individual users. You must not use GA information to target individuals, and simply looking at individual user paths will not help you (I wrote an article about that, although I do not expect that this will convince you).
Google Analytics is for technical and legal reasons not a good tool for tracking individual users, if you need to do this use a software that is made for this purpose. Mixpanel is often mentioned in that context but I'm sure there are many other solutions.
Help just read this page: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/protocol/policy
Please note:: allows Google to personally identify << is this meant, if google can't indentify this user is ok with their policy?
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), even in hashed form. 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.
No, absolutely not. You answered your question: "You will not upload any data that will allow Google to personality identify an individual..." or am I misunderstanding your question somehow?
Well, technically you are allowed to track an individual but just not by using any information that can personally identify that individual.
I'd like to know the identities of users who come to my website by clicking on a link in my native application.
Could my app populate the referer field with a unique user ID?
Does the referer field have to be a valid URL?
Will Google Analytics handle a referer that isn't a URL?
I could mockup a URL like http://www.user.com/656 where 656 is the user ID.
Any caveats?
Good question. On one hand, i have remapped quite a few of these GA Fields (including Referral) and i have never had a problem. In addition, doing so is core functionality in GA (see below); in other words (as i am sure you know) GA actually provides its users with the templates (via Advanced Filters) to munge these Fields beyond recognition. )
On the other hand, i can think of one situation (only one actually) in which i believe Google would object and that's the case where the replacement information violates the GA Privacy Policy. In particular, displaying or storing or tracking via GA any personally identifiable information violates the Policy [italics are mine, not a quote from the GA Privacy Policy].
The actual definition from Google:
Personal information is information
that personally identifies you, such
as your name, email address or billing
information, or other data which can
be reasonably linked to such
information
Is a unique user ID, personally identifiable information? There is a difference between data intended to clearly distinguish one user from another, and data intended to identify each user. The distinction might depend on security--i.e., how easily could someone who had in their possession a list of your unique user IDs, discover the user identifies behind them?
Technically, the referrer header just specifies a URL. If you want to construct "fake" URLs, come up with a URI scheme specific to your application. Something like userid:656.