Privacy Implications of Google Analytics
Google Analytics is classified as a medium-risk analytics technology with a prevalence of 4.7% across our monitored dataset. When a website deploys Google Analytics, it creates a data channel between the visitor's browser and google-analytics.com, allowing the collection of browsing behavior, page interactions, and potentially device fingerprinting data.
What Data Does Google Analytics Collect?
As a analytics technology, Google Analytics typically collects page views, session duration, click patterns, referrer data, and user agent information. Some implementations may also collect form interactions, scroll depth, and custom event data configured by the website operator.
Compliance Considerations
Under GDPR and ePrivacy Directive, websites deploying Google Analytics must obtain informed consent before the technology loads, unless it falls under the “strictly necessary” exemption. With a prevalence of 4.7%, Google Analytics is one of the less common technologies in our dataset. Vendor risk teams should verify that partners using Google Analytics have implemented proper consent management and data processing agreements.
Impact on Privacy Scores
Websites using Google Analytics have an average privacy score of 60/100 and an average of 1.6 total trackers. As a medium-risk technology, its presence contributes moderate score deductions. Our detailed domain reports show exactly how each tracker affects a site's overall privacy grade.