Web Analytics with Insights: Privacy Without Compromise
European regulators have issued over 1,000 GDPR fines since 2018, with many targeting websites using standard Google Analytics setups due to IP address logging and cookie use. For site owners wary of such risks, Insights offers an alternative developed in Austria. Launched by two freelance developers, this tool tracks website metrics while avoiding personal data collection entirely. No cookies mean no consent banners, and all data stays anonymized. Hosted by Unsourced Digital OG, Insights caters to developers needing detailed insights—page views, bounce rates, custom events—without privacy pitfalls. It's open-source on the JavaScript side and scales from free tiers for small projects to paid plans for larger traffic. (168 words)
What is Insights?
Insights is a web analytics platform built by Anthony and Henrique, two freelance software developers based in Austria. They created it around 2019 after finding existing privacy-focused tools lacking in features for their own projects. Operating under Unsourced Digital OG, the company is headquartered in Austria, aligning with EU data protection standards from the start.
The platform emphasizes simplicity and developer-friendliness. Setup takes under a minute: add a script tag to your site, initialize with your project key, and it auto-tracks page views. For more, use Insights.js—a lightweight, open-source library available on GitHub—to log custom events like button clicks or scrolls. It supports frameworks including React, Angular and Vue, with full TypeScript types.
Unlike heavier tools, Insights loads quickly and honors Do Not Track headers. Data processing hashes IP addresses temporarily in memory for fraud checks but never stores or logs them. User agents parse to generic browser/OS labels, screen sizes round to the nearest 50px, and referrers capture origins without identifiers. This setup delivers standard metrics—bounce rates, referrers, user flows—while ensuring no individual tracking. Pricing starts free for up to 3,000 events monthly, scaling to $79 for 10 million. The dashboard provides clean visualizations without overwhelming options. (248 words)
Who Uses Insights?
Insights appeals to indie developers, small teams and agencies building modern web apps where privacy matters. It's suited for SaaS products, e-commerce sites and portfolios needing event tracking without legal headaches. Freelancers use the free tier for client sites under 3,000 monthly visits; startups scale to paid plans as traffic grows.
Common use cases include monitoring funnel drop-offs, A/B test performance and referrer analysis for marketing tweaks. Web app builders track SPA navigation, which cookie-reliant tools often miss. While specific customer names aren't publicized, its GitHub repo shows adoption in open-source projects, and forum mentions highlight switches from Google Analytics for EU compliance. European SMEs favor it to avoid US data transfer scrutiny. (152 words)
European Advantage
Based in Austria under Unsourced Digital OG, Insights keeps operations within the EU. This avoids the data sovereignty issues plaguing US giants like Google, where server locations and sub-processor lists spark endless audits. GDPR is baked in: no consent required, full anonymization from ingestion. The privacy policy, effective since 2019, outlines rights like data portability and erasure explicitly.
EU teams benefit from local support via email and a straightforward dashboard in English. As regulators tighten enforcement—fining even small sites for untuned analytics—Insights provides peace of mind without extra configuration. Its Austrian roots ensure alignment with bloc-wide standards, from ePrivacy to DSA. (118 words)
How Insights Compares
Insights positions between full-featured Google Analytics and lighter privacy alternatives like Plausible or Umami. GA offers deeper segmentation but logs IPs and demands gnarly consent setups, risking fines. Insights matches event depth without that baggage, at a fraction of the setup time.
Plausible skips events for simplicity; Umami requires self-hosting. Insights delivers hosted events, open-source client and EU compliance for $12 monthly—cheaper than Fathom's $14 base. For developers, its JS flexibility stands out, providing Google-level insights minus the privacy tax. (102 words)
Get Started with Insights
Ready to try Insights?
Visit Official Website to learn more and get started.
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