The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation of the European Union that regulates the rules for the processing of personal data in a standardized manner throughout the EU. It provides that users of a website, blog or app are informed in advance and at the same time have to agree if personal data is processed and/or passed on. However, many website operators still do not take this into account.
User data – such as how many visitors visit a website or how long they stay with an article, etc. – is usually recorded using an analysis tool. The most popular of those tools is Google Analytics, after all it is easy to implement, provides extensive user data, is free and runs on Google servers.
Because Google receives a lot of data, including data-related data, visitors to a website must be informed about the use of Google Analytics by means of cookie banners and must also agree to this. However, not a few operators of websites do not handle it this way and thus violate the GDPR.
Matomo: Less risk, more privacy
If you would prefer not to use Google Analytics due to data protection concerns, there are also good alternatives. One of them is called Matomo – a tool that is also free, but which does not transmit any data to US corporations. The data is stored on our own server or, if you wish, on a European Matomo server.
The open-source solution offers similar comprehensive functions as Google Analytics, but works GDPR-compliant and can therefore be used without consent. In this way, website operators do not take the risk of violating the General Data Protection Regulation and at the same time protect the privacy of users.
The advantages at a glance:
- Data stays on your own or a European Matomo server
- the tool works GDPR-compliant and can be used without consent
- the privacy of the website users is protected