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Ask HN: Is My Google Analytics Tracking Code Private?

3 points by sockey ↗ HN
Is there anyway a novice or expert could figure out who I am based on my Google Analytics tracking code?

I've searched around and delved into the GA documentation, but haven't found anything that references the tracking codes privacy.

6 comments

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ianhowlett
Hi. If I can see your GA tracking code on a website, and I then go and check WHOIS and see who owns the site with that GA tracking code, there's a chance that if I see that GA tracking code somewhere else I could figure out that it's you. But I guess I'd really have to be looking, almost stalking you!
adamclerk
The tracking code will usually be in the source of the page you've used it on.

var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker('UA-XXXXXXX-Y')

It's not going to be very private.

sockey
I understand the code it publicly viewable. I want to know if it's possible to connect the UA code to the Google account that it belongs to?
dman
If you really care about it you can setup throwaway accounts.
jnorthrop
I don't understand the question. A tracking code is definitively linked to a particular website. It is not linked to a person. Am I missing something?
mattgratt
Yes. People use Blekko on GA and AdSense code to find who owns networks of sites.

The solution is to use a different throw-away account for each site.