5 Reasons to Switch from Google Analytics to Privacy-First Analytics

Google Analytics has been the default choice for web analytics since 2005. But the web has changed, privacy regulations have tightened, and there are now better alternatives for most websites.

1. No more consent banners

Google Analytics uses cookies and collects personal data, which means GDPR requires you to show a consent banner. Studies show 30-40% of visitors reject tracking — meaning your GA data is already incomplete.

With a cookie-free analytics tool like Fairlytics, you don't need consent banners. You track 100% of your traffic, legally.

2. Your data stays yours

When you use Google Analytics, your data flows to Google's servers. Google can use this data to build advertising profiles, improve their own products, and cross-reference it with data from other Google services.

With Fairlytics, your analytics data is stored in an EU-hosted database. We don't sell it, share it, or use it for advertising. Ever.

3. Faster page loads

The Google Analytics script (gtag.js) is ~45KB and makes multiple network requests to Google's servers, setting cookies along the way. This adds measurable latency to every page load.

Fairlytics is 510 bytes gzipped — roughly 90x smaller. One request, no cookies, no follow-up calls. Your Core Web Vitals will thank you.

4. Simpler, more focused data

Google Analytics 4 is notoriously complex. Event-based data models, custom dimensions, BigQuery exports, attribution modeling — most website owners don't need any of this.

Fairlytics gives you what actually matters: page views, unique visitors, top pages, referrers, countries, and devices. Clean dashboard, no learning curve.

5. Legal certainty

Google Analytics has faced legal challenges across Europe. Austrian, French, Italian, and Danish data protection authorities have all found Google Analytics transfers to violate GDPR. Some organizations have been fined.

Fairlytics doesn't collect personal data, so these concerns don't apply. You get legal certainty without the compliance overhead.

Making the switch

Switching is simple:

  1. Add the Fairlytics tracking snippet (one line of code)
  2. Run both tools side by side if you want to compare
  3. Remove Google Analytics when you're satisfied
  4. Delete your consent banner and enjoy the cleaner UX

Your visitors browse without being tracked. You still get the insights you need. Everybody wins.