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It is against the terms of service of Google analytics to pass any PII such that you can track an event back to any particular person. On top of that, the code

by dozy 12y ago

It is against the terms of service of Google analytics to pass any PII such that you can track an event back to any particular person. On top of that, the code for Google Analytics js is available for your review, along with its network requests, such that you can hold them to their word.

ubercow13 12y ago
In most cases wouldn't it just be enough that you're logged into your Google account recently via the same IP
gojomo 12y ago
The section about "personally identifiable" information in the Google Analytics Terms of Service [1] does not limit Google, but the site using GA. Practically, I'm not sure that can even be enforced, or that Google has any incentive to enforce it. If a site uniquely tags each user via custom variables, or by sending users to a unique resource/goal/interim URL, will Google detect this and obscure/destroy the resulting data? Or is such tracking for the site's own purposes a core feature of GA? And Google often has its own PII about the same user, from other visits to Google's own sites, anyway. [1] http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html - section 7 "Privacy"
- zwetan 12y ago
  you are allowed to uniquely identify a user with a "User ID" which is different than the "Client ID" https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/protocol/v1/parameters#user https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection...
kybernetikos 12y ago
> It is against the terms of service of Google analytics to pass any PII such that you can track an event back to any particular person. You need barely any information to construct a personally identifiable profile. The fact that you as the user of google analytics can't do it says nothing about googles ability to do it. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/09/your-secrets-live-online-in-databases-of-ruin/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/09/your-secrets-live...

by dozy 12y ago

ubercow13 12y ago

In most cases wouldn't it just be enough that you're logged into your Google account recently via the same IP

gojomo 12y ago

The section about "personally identifiable" information in the Google Analytics Terms of Service [1] does not limit Google, but the site using GA. Practically, I'm not sure that can even be enforced, or that Google has any incentive to enforce it. If a site uniquely tags each user via custom variables, or by sending users to a unique resource/goal/interim URL, will Google detect this and obscure/destroy the resulting data? Or is such tracking for the site's own purposes a core feature of GA? And Google often has its own PII about the same user, from other visits to Google's own sites, anyway. [1] http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html - section 7 "Privacy"

zwetan 12y ago
you are allowed to uniquely identify a user with a "User ID" which is different than the "Client ID" https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/protocol/v1/parameters#user https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection...

kybernetikos 12y ago

> It is against the terms of service of Google analytics to pass any PII such that you can track an event back to any particular person. You need barely any information to construct a personally identifiable profile. The fact that you as the user of google analytics can't do it says nothing about googles ability to do it. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/09/your-secrets-live-online-in-databases-of-ruin/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/09/your-secrets-live...