It\u2019s a popular way to get information on your users and is legal if you make sure that all relevant data privacy law requirements are met and respected before tracking users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Website tracking works by collecting and processing data \u2014 often personal data \u2014 from users to obtain valuable insights into your website\u2019s performance and your ad campaign\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Different website tracking tools can be used to collect different kinds of data for different purposes, ranging from information about users (gender, age, location, search and browser history) to information about how users interact with your website (what they click on, scroll past, hover over, how they arrived at your site and where they go afterwards).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tracking user activity on a website offers benefits before the visitor even arrives on your website, and then again when they\u2019re browsing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Targeted advertising: <\/strong>By tracking online activity and interests, you can deliver targeted advertisements to an audience that is interested in your product or service, increasing leads and conversions. You can also analyze which ads are effective at driving traffic and can adjust paid advertising campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organic traffic:<\/strong> Tracking website activity helps you understand which marketing efforts successfully attract visitors. By identifying which strategies result in the most traffic sources, you can focus on these methods to enhance your return on investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Improves user experience: <\/strong>Tracking user behavior on websites enables you to provide personalized experience for visitors. For example, it can help remember visitor preferences, such as the preferred language, so that visitors don\u2019t need to choose on every visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Increases conversions: <\/strong>By analyzing how users interact with their site and pinpointing areas for enhancement, website owners can make changes that lead to more users completing desired actions, like making a purchase or signing up, thereby helping achieve their business objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Website tracking online works through cookies <\/strong>and similar website trackers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tracking cookies<\/strong><\/a> and other web tracking methods work by storing themselves on a user\u2019s browser when the user lands on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once stored on their browser, tracking cookies collect information on the user that is used to measure their visit, recognize them upon repeated visits, track them across browsers and devices and peek into their interests and behavior in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you use a website tracking software on your website, the software will set third-party cookies, which will activate when a user lands on your website and start collecting personal data on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most third-party cookies from website tracking software will use some variant of a unique ID that can recognize the individual user across the Internet, as they travel from news sites to online shops and to your website. This enables the third-party cookies to collect detailed data on the user\u2019s movements, preferences, search and browser history, among many other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most data that cookies and website trackers collect is personal data, which is protected by various global data protection regulations. Website tracking is legal only if you ensure end-user privacy protection in accordance with the data privacy law in force in the user\u2019s region, including collecting their explicit consent. How does this work in practice? Continue reading!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Website tracking in which people\u2019s personal and sensitive information is harvested freely and without any regard to their privacy <\/strong>is illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have a website that tracks users or you want to start tracking users, the first thing you need to know is where in the world your website\u2019s users are located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is because the location of your end-users will determine which data protection law applies to your website tracking\u2019s online collection and processing of personal data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have users from the European Union (EU), then, regardless of where in the world you and your website are located, <\/strong>you need to be aware of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)<\/strong><\/a> and its requirements for consent and other data protection obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tracking user activity on a website in compliance with the GDPR rests on three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consent is a legal basis for obtaining user data under the GDPR. Website trackers that collect and process users\u2019 personal data need the explicit consent of end-users before they can be activated and used for <\/strong>tracking website activity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GDPR cookie consent<\/strong><\/a> must be given freely (i.e. not forced or as a condition for services) and it must be granular (i.e. users need to be able to give their consent to some website trackers and not others).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your obligation to inform your users means that you need to tell them about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Users must be made aware of all details about your web tracking practices before they can provide an informed, compliant consent. This information can\u2019t be provided to them after they\u2019ve given consent or be buried in a difficult legal text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a user consents to the website tracking on your domain, you need to <\/strong>document this consent and securely store it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consent must also be renewed every 6 to 12 months, according to relevant national data protection guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Personal data under the EU\u2019s GDPR include, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have users from California, the state-wide California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)<\/strong><\/a>, as amended by California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)<\/strong><\/a>, applies to your website tracking if you meet its definition of a business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike the EU\u2019s GDPR, the CCPA doesn\u2019t require you to obtain end-user consent before tracking users, but it does require you to provide all the same transparency around your website tracking practices as the GDPR, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n End-users from California need to be able to opt out of your web tracking by a link that says \u201dDo Not Sell or Share My Personal Information\u201d<\/strong> on your website\u2019s cookie banner<\/strong><\/a>. Should users click on this link, you\u2019re not allowed to track their personal information any longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a manual process for users, who must click on this link for each website they visit. Users can also enable Global Privacy Control<\/strong><\/a>, a browser-based setting or extension where users set their privacy preferences, such as not wanting their personal data to be shared or sold. The extension then automatically notifies websites of these privacy preferences when the user visits. The CCPA\/CPRA requires websites to respect the Global Privacy Control signals as a request to opt out, on par with the specific Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Personal information under California\u2019s CCPA includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your website processes any of the above information through cookies and website trackers, users must be notified about it in detail and also be given the choice of opting out of having their information collected and shared via third parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Users from Brazil and South Africa are also protected by data privacy laws that closely mirror the EU\u2019s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), empowered with enforceable rights of consent and transparency just as users in the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compliance with Brazil\u2019s Lei Geral de Prote\u00e7\u00e3o de Dados Pessoais (LGPD)<\/strong><\/a> or South Africa\u2019s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA)<\/strong><\/a> is mandatory if you have users from within these countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There's no doubt tracking website activity can be invaluable to understand users and make informed decisions, and it's important to ensure you do so in a manner that complies with relevant data privacy laws and protects user privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Privacy-first web tracking is an approach to website analytics and user data collection that prioritizes user privacy and data protection. It\u2019s designed in a way that respects user consent, only collects necessary data, and ensures the data is securely collected, stored, and processed in compliance with relevant data privacy laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This approach typically uses first-party cookies that gather data only on the customer's own website, ensuring no cross-site tracking or third-party data sharing. Additionally, privacy-first tracking steers clear of invasive technologies like fingerprinting, prioritizing user privacy across web interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Privacy-first web tracking aims to strike a balance between collecting valuable user data for website optimization and maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of user information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To comply with data privacy regulations that require opt-in cookie consent<\/strong><\/a> (such as the GDPR, LGPD and POPIA), it's vital to obtain informed and explicit consent from users before collecting or tracking their data. Clearly explain the purpose, types of data collected, and its usage. This transparency not only meets legal requirements but also builds trust with your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For jurisdictions where opt-out consent is mandatory (such as California), give users the ability to opt out of data collection and sharing or selling for personal information. Clear instructions on how to do this should be provided, and their preferences must be respected and implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maintain records of user consent, including when and how it was given, what data is collected, and any involved third parties. This documentation is key to demonstrating compliance with data privacy laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use a consent management platform (CMP)<\/strong><\/a> like Cookiebot CMP<\/strong> for transparent and compliant user consent processes. The Cookiebot CMP plug-and-play compliance solution gives you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cookiebot CMP is a Google-certified CMP<\/a> that integrates the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe\u2019s Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) v.2.2<\/a>, a requirement for serving ads to visitors in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK) from 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cookiebot CMP fully supports Google Consent Mode<\/a> and enables you to run Google\u2019s site tracking tools also without cookies, should your users decline consent. With the advanced version of Consent Mode, you will be able to still collect non-identifying page tracking data if users opt out, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the close partnership integration between Cookiebot CMP and Google Consent Mode, your website can get the best of both worlds \u2013 end-user data privacy protection without losing valuable website tracking insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGet certified for free for Google Consent Mode V2<\/span>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.cookiebot.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/05\/What-are-the-benefits-of-tracking-users_.svg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat are the benefits of tracking users?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Drives relevant traffic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Streamlines the user journey<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow to track user activity on a website<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIs web tracking legal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat do data privacy regulations say about website activity tracking?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and website tracking<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and website tracking<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Website tracking in Brazil and South Africa<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow can you comply with the legal requirements for site tracking?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Adopt privacy-first website user tracking practices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Obtain legally valid consent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Keep detailed consent records<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Implement a consent management platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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