CloudFlare introduces ‘privacy-friendly’ Web Analytics

Cloudflare releases its own tool to analyze website visits. Cloudflare Web Analytics is, according to the company, privacy-friendly because it does not track visitors individually and therefore does not store anything with them. Instead, the tool only counts visits.

The tool will be available to existing Cloudflare customers as well as other website administrators. They must then add the code to their website to use the tool. For Cloudflare customers, the code is run serverside, but the external version requires clientside JavaScript to be loaded. Cloudflare warns that it is possible that website visitors block this.

Cloudflare writes in a blog post that Web Analytics is primarily focused on visitor privacy. For example, no cookies are placed or fingerprints are made to indicate individual visitors. The tool therefore does not indicate unique visitors, but only visits. Users can also see which pages are visited and for how long, and from which countries users come. Cloudflare customers using Bot Management will also be able to detect automated visits in the future and block those bots through Web Analytics.

The tool is not yet available. It is not yet known exactly when it will be released. Interested parties can register on a waiting list. The tool will be available in their dashboard for Cloudflare customers.