# Anonymous reader tracking

Logged-out visitors to public Confluence pages are tracked as well as signed-in users.

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## How it works

The background script is explicitly allowed to run for unlicensed and anonymous readers. Anonymous views are recorded with the account dimension set to the literal word "anonymous" and no Google user id, so anonymous visitors are not all collapsed into one person in GA4.

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## What it needs

Nothing extra. It is on whenever tracking is on.

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## Where you do it

| **Task**                                     | **Where**                                                                   |
| -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Open the settings page                       | Confluence > Settings > Apps > Google Analytics                             |
| Set the Measurement ID and start collecting  | View tracking panel > Data stream (if connected) or Measurement ID (manual) |
| Turn on search, comment and page-edit events | Enhanced tracking panel > Measurement Protocol API secret                   |

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## Settings that affect this

| **Setting**                           | **Where**                                           | **What it does**                                                                                                                                                                               |
| ------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Connect Google Analytics / Disconnect | Settings > Apps > Google Analytics > Connect Google | Starts a Google sign-in popup. The connection is site-level: one admin connects once and the whole Confluence site uses it. Disconnect revokes access at Google and deletes the stored tokens. |
| Data stream                           | Settings > Apps > Google Analytics > View tracking  | Picking a web data stream fills in the Measurement ID for you.                                                                                                                                 |
| Measurement ID                        | Settings > Apps > Google Analytics > View tracking  | The GA4 tag ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX). This is the single required setting: nothing is collected anywhere until it is set.                                                                             |

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## Worth knowing

* Anonymous, logged-out readers of public pages ARE tracked, by design, and there is no per-reader opt-out inside Confluence. Their browsers contact both Google and Capable. They are recorded as "anonymous" with no Google user id.
* There is no consent mechanism inside Confluence at all. Setting a Measurement ID starts collecting from every reader on the next page load, with no banner and no opt-out. The only consent gate in the product is the cookie consent popup on published Capable Sites.
* "Allowed groups" restricts who can READ reports. It never restricts who is tracked. Excluded users and anonymous readers keep being recorded.
* Settings changes take up to about 10 minutes to reach readers because of four layers of caching.
* Switching GA4 property discards the Measurement ID and the API secret selection, and tracking stays off until you set them again.
* Server-side events all share one Google client identity across every user and every site, and logged-out actors become one "anonymous" identity. Users and Sessions from that stream are not meaningful. This is a deliberate continuity decision carried over from the older Connect app.

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## Related

[Search tracking (browser side)Another part of how this works.](https://help.gocapable.com/google-analytics/search-tracking-browser-side.html)

[Enhanced tracking (server side)Another part of how this works.](https://help.gocapable.com/google-analytics/enhanced-tracking-server-side.html)

[How it worksThe rest.](https://help.gocapable.com/google-analytics/how-it-works.html)

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_How it actually behaves._