amount of data collected increases, so does the risk of personal information being collected and stored. At the heart of this data is the so-called PII data. But what exactly is PII data and how does it get into tracking? Let's take a closer look.
Personally identifiable information (PII) includes any data that can be used to directly or indirectly identify an individual, such as a name, email address, or phone number. Google Analytics 4 should never collect such data as it violates Google's privacy policy and GDPR guidelines. Inadvertently sending PII data can have serious consequences, including legal consequences and suspension of the Analytics account, so it is essential to take steps to prevent and correct PII.
How does PII data get into tracking?
PII data can inadvertently enter Google Analytics 4 through various channels.
URL parameters
This often happens via URL parameters, for example canada phone number data when email addresses or user names are included in links. Then you will find something like this in your data:
In this URL, the name ("JohnDoe") and email address are passed as parameters in the URL. Such information is not allowed to be collected in Google Analytics as it is considered PII and violates privacy policies.
form submissions
Form submissions that include user data such as names or phone numbers can also pass PII data. When a user fills out a form on a website, the data entered can be tracked if not properly configured.
Custom Dimensions
Another scenario is the use of custom dimensions and events that transmit sensitive information. This unintentional collection of PII can not only affect data quality but also have legal consequences.
Internal search
Sometimes PII data can be collected unintentionally by web analytics tools. For example, when a user enters their email address in a search field instead of the intended email field.
data import
When importing data to GA4, it can also happen that personal data is accidentally transferred.
How do I find PII data in GA4?
To detect PII in Google Analytics 4, you can create custom reports in the GA4 Exploration view. To do this, you should look for common PII indicators such as email addresses, phone numbers, or personally identifiable information in URL parameters. A useful tool for this is to use filters that specifically look for patterns that are typical of PII, such as "@" for email addresses or sequences of numbers that indicate phone numbers. These reports help to quickly identify and correct potentially problematic data.