Google has printed new documentation for the GA4 Knowledge Redaction characteristic that forestalls unintentionally sending personally identifiable data (PII) to Google. This makes it simpler to evolve to privateness legal guidelines and Google’s personal insurance policies.
Notable in regards to the characteristic is that it is going to be turned on by default for brand spanking new properties which can be added to GA4 however present properties should manually allow it.
Google’s GA 4 insurance policies require that no PII knowledge be despatched by GA4 that Google may use to establish people.
Examples of PII consists of (however will not be restricted to):
- Electronic mail addresses
- Private cell numbers
- Social safety numbers
Eradicating PII From URLs
One of many ways in which PII may inadvertently be despatched to Google is thru URL paths and parameters that comprise PII in them.
The Knowledge Redaction characteristic in GA4 is a setting that’s turned on by default for brand spanking new properties added to GA4.
Current properties might want to configure the info redaction characteristic within the web knowledge stream settings.
GA4’s knowledge redaction characteristic analyzes occasions previous to sending them to Google and strips out any PII that could be contained within the knowledge.
In accordance with the brand new documentation:
“The info-redaction characteristic helps to stop the inadvertent assortment of PII within the type of e-mail addresses and URL question parameters.
Knowledge redaction makes use of textual content patterns to establish possible e-mail addresses throughout all occasion parameters and the URL question parameters which can be included as a part of the occasion parameters page_location, page_referrer, page_path, link_url, video_url, and form_destination.”
It ought to be famous that Google’s documentation advises that customers mustn’t think about their duty to take away PII to be accomplished with this answer.
The answer can’t be thought-about full as a result of GA4 customers are nonetheless obligated to make it possible for there aren’t any PII despatched to Google in another method that the info redaction characteristic could not be capable of establish and take away.
The brand new documentation states:
“It’s vital to do not forget that whereas knowledge redaction offers a robust instrument towards inadvertently amassing PII, the last word duty for assembly regulatory necessities nonetheless lies with the entity amassing knowledge.
To additional assist you meet that duty, this characteristic enables you to check your configuration to know whether or not the textual content patterns you establish are redacted as anticipated (be taught extra).”
You too can use Debug View to watch in actual time how Analytics collects occasions out of your website.”
Now it’s only a setting inside GA4.
Learn Google’s newly printed documentation for the info redaction characteristic: