Cookie-Free WordPress Analytics: 2 Simple Methods

Initially, my approach to WordPress website analytics was simply installing Google Analytics.

However, with evolving privacy regulations, employing cookies to gather personal data without explicit consent can create legal problems and deter visitors.

I have assisted WordPress website owners in adopting cookie-free analytics, which still yields valuable data. My experience includes testing and implementing diverse options across many websites.

This tutorial presents two methods for integrating analytics while upholding user privacy. One leverages a privacy-centric Google Analytics configuration (using first-party cookies), and the other is a cookieless alternative.

Do I Really Need Cookieless Analytics?

You’ve likely encountered discussions about cookies and privacy laws. How do these impact your WordPress website’s analytics? Let’s clarify.

Cookies represent small data segments stored within a user’s browser upon visiting a website.

Standard analytics platforms, such as Google Analytics 4 (GA4), utilize these cookies to monitor visitor actions, including visited pages, session durations, and specific interactions.

This data allows site owners to gain audience insights and enhance their websites.

🚨 Here’s the challenge:Emerging privacy regulations, including GDPR, CCPA, and ePrivacy, mandate explicit user consent for cookie-based tracking. Consequently, many site owners believe cookieless analytics is required for compliance.

That is a misconception.

You are able to monitor key metrics using Google Analytics and adhere to privacy regulations.

Why Google Analytics 4 Without Cookies is the Superior Choice

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) remains the top, robust tool for website analytics across all site types. For precise insight into visitor actions, opt for GA4.

Before proceeding, let’s clarify: GA4 doesn’t depend on third-party cookies. It leveragesfirst-party cookiesThese cookies, set by your site, gather data solely on visitor activity within your WordPress domain.

Conversely,third-party cookiesoriginate from external services such as ad networks. They monitor users across numerous sites. Their extensive tracking raises privacy issues and is being deprecated by many browsers.

You might ask:“If GA4 still uses cookies—even first-party ones—can it comply with privacy laws?”

The answer is affirmative.

It’s worth noting that Google Analytics is neither inherently compliant nor non-compliant;it’s up to youto ensure its usage aligns with relevant regulations.

Whether cookie consent is needed for Google Analytics depends on factors like your and your visitors’ locations, and how data is managed.

Because cookie consent regulations differ between countries, including within the EU, some websites are required to obtain user consent for each cookie, while others simply require a banner whenever cookies are used.

I will demonstrate how to integrate GA4 with the following to address this issue:

✅ MonsterInsights with the EU Compliance addon – This addon helps you maintain compliance with GDPR and other data privacy laws.

✅ WPConsent cookie banners – These tools facilitate proper user consent requests and management.

Using these tools allows you to continue leveraging GA4 while adhering to privacy regulations, enabling you to gather useful data while minimizing legal risks.

How to Add WordPress Analytics Without Cookies

Now that you understand cookieless tracking and its necessity, we can discuss setting it up on your WordPress website.

There are 2 effective methods to accomplish this:

1. GA4 + MonsterInsights EU Compliance addon – Track user activity with GA4 while adhering to privacy regulations such as GDPR. It relies on first-party cookies and provides adjustable settings for enhanced privacy. It is well-suited for obtaining in-depth insights with simple website integration.
2. Burst Statistics – Let’s you set up analytics without cookies. It stores data on your server and offers a hybrid mode with optional cookies.

I will cover both of these methods, in addition to some additional tips and frequently asked questions regarding cookieless tracking.

Feel free to use the jump links below to go to your preferred method:

Are you ready? Let’s get started.

Method 1: How to Set Up WordPress Cookieless Analytics (Keep Using GA4 for the Best Insights)

This approach lets you tap into robust analytics while upholding user privacy. I will use MonsterInsights and WPConsent to enable cookieless tracking.

Step 1: Install MonsterInsights to Set Up Cookieless Analytics

MonsterInsights stands out as a leading Google Analytics plugin for WordPress because it simplifies viewing your Google Analytics data right within WordPress.

At CanadaCreate, we use it to track traffic sources, visitor demographics, and conversion rates on our forms, buttons, referral links, and more. Check out our complete MonsterInsights review for a deeper look at its features.

First, install and activate the MonsterInsights plugin. Refer to this guide on WordPress plugin installation for detailed instructions.

Step 2: Connect MonsterInsights to Google WordPress Analytics

With MonsterInsights active, the next step is linking it to both your site and your Google Analytics profile.

Access the ‘Insights’ section located in the left-hand navigation of your WordPress admin area.

Then, initiate the MonsterInsights configuration by selecting the ‘Launch the Wizard’ option.

On the subsequent screen, designate the category that most accurately represents your website.

Options include a WordPress blog, a business website, or an eCommerce store.

Select ‘Save and Continue’ once you’ve made your selection.

After that, you’ll need to connect MonsterInsights to your website’s Google Analytics account.

Initiate the connection by clicking the ‘Connect MonsterInsights’ button.

The subsequent steps require you to log into your Google Analytics account and choose the website for tracking.

After that, MonsterInsights handles the Google Analytics setup on your site.

Refer to this guide on how to install Google Analytics in WordPress for more detailed instructions.

Step 3: Install the MonsterInsights EU Compliance Addon

Because GA4 relies on first-party cookies, ensure your tracking aligns with GDPR using MonsterInsights.EU Complianceaddon, which simplifies key privacy configurations within GA4 via automation.

It offers key features, such as:

• Masking IP addresses to avoid storing personal information.
• Disabling the tracking of user demographics, interests, and User IDs.

To install the addon, you can navigate to Insights » Addons.

Proceed by clicking the ‘Install & Activate’ button, which will install the EU Compliance addon on your WordPress site.

Once installed, a toggle will appear; switch it to activate the addon.

After activation, proceed to the ‘Settings’ menu in your WordPress dashboard.

In the ‘Engagement’ tab, simply toggle the ‘Enable EU Compliance’ setting to turn it on.

It’s also advisable to check your GA4 settings, confirming they mirror the privacy configurations you’ve set in MonsterInsights.

For instance, if you want to prevent GA4 from tracking demographic information, go to the ‘Admin’ section in your GA4 account.

Next, find the ‘Data collection and modification’ setting within the GA4 admin panel.

After locating the section, click the ‘Data collection’ option.

Now, in the ‘Google signals data collection’ settings, you should make sure it’s disabled.

Why is disabling Google Signals important? Because it gathers supplementary user information, including:

• Demographics & Interests – Age, gender, and hobbies.
• Location & Engagement – User locations (from Google accounts).
• Cross-Device Tracking – Identifies users as they switch between devices.
• Cross-Platform Reports – Details on how users engage across multiple devices.
• Ad Personalization Data – Integration with Google Ads for the purpose of remarketing campaigns.

If it’s already disabled, you’ll see an option labeled ‘Turn On,’ as shown here:

You might also want to review your data retention settings.

Data retention in GA4 determines how long user and event data are kept before automatic deletion. Shorter retention supports GDPR and other privacy rules.

Navigate toData collection and modification » Data retentionfrom the Admin section to access these settings.

You’ll then see settings to adjust the storage duration for event and user data.

Click the ‘Data retention’ dropdown for event and user data, and select ‘2 months’ to tighten compliance.

Remember to save your changes after making adjustments.

For a deeper dive into GA4, see our guide on how to use Google Analytics 4.

Step 4: Set Up the WPConsent Cookie Consent Plugin

GDPR and CCPA compliance with Google Analytics 4 requires user consent before any tracking takes place. This responsibility lies with you.

Consent needs depend on your business location, user locations, data collected, and data usage. Rules differ significantly across countries, even within the EU, regarding consent for specific cookies or any cookie type.

Rather than managing compliance manually, WPConsent can streamline the process.

This powerful plugin lets you display a cookie consent banner, log user choices, and control when tools like GA4 are allowed to run — all within WordPress.

At CanadaCreate (and some of our partner brands), we use WPConsent, and it’s been a reliable solution for managing privacy settings. Explore all of its features in our complete WPConsent review!

So, let’s start by installing the WPConsent plugin. If you need help, then you can see this beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon plugin activation, let’s activate the license key.

To do this, you’ll need to go to WPConsent » Settings. After that, simply copy the license key from your WPConsent account and paste it into the ‘License Key’ field.

Then, go ahead and click the ‘Activate Key’ button.

With that done, let’s navigate to ‘Dashboard’ to go through the setup wizard.

Go ahead and click on the ‘Let’s Get Started’ button.

On the next screen, WPConsent will run a scan to see if your site is using cookies.

First, it will ask you to check your site’s email address.

If everything looks good already, then you can click ‘Scan Your Website.’

This will trigger the tool to start the cookie scan.

Once done, you’ll see a ‘Scan completed’ notification along with a short report on the tool’s findings. For example, here it says that WPConsent found 4 services on our site that have set cookies.

Let’s click on ‘OK’ to continue the process.

Next up, you’ll see your WordPress site’s scan results in more detail.

On my demo site, the services that use cookies are WordPress login (this might be because of the ‘Remember Me‘ option), WordPress Comments, Google Analytics, and Matomo.

Ensure all relevant services are selected. Additionally, enable the option to ‘Prevent known scripts from adding cookies before consent is given.’

Once configured, proceed by clicking the ‘Auto-Configure selected’ button.

Subsequently, WPConsent will guide you through the setup of your cookie banner.

The setup process is straightforward. Select a layout and choose its placement on the page.

Then, you can scroll down the page to preview your cookie consent banner.

If the preview meets your expectations, click the ‘Save & Complete Setup’ button.

That completes the basic setup!

Upon visiting your website, your newly configured cookie consent banner will be visible.

👉 Expert Tip:Including a link to your privacy policy within the cookie banner can enhance user trust and meet legal standards. If you lack such a page, consult our guide on creating a privacy policy page in WordPress.

After creating your policy, integrate its link into your cookie banner via the WPConsent editor.

Simply go toWPConsent » Banner Design from your admin area. Then, you can edit the text in the ‘Message’ field to include the link to your Privacy Policy page.

Remember to ‘Save’ your changes to preserve your progress.

Here’s how the cookie banner will appear:

Step 5: Check Consent Logs to Validate Privacy Configuration

WPConsent offers a ‘Consent Logs’ area, giving you comprehensive insight into visitor interactions with your site’s cookie consent form.

To access your logs, proceed toWPConsent » Consent Logswithin your WordPress dashboard.

A table containing all user consent information will be displayed.

For instance, one user accepted all types of cookies: essential, statistical, and for marketing purposes.

That concludes the process; you’ve successfully configured Google Analytics with better privacy while still employing cookies.

Method 2: How to Set Up WordPress Analytics Without Cookies (Free Option with Less Data Accuracy)

If cookie-free analytics are desired, Burst Statistics is an excellent choice. This complimentary plugin simplifies the setup significantly.

Note that Burst Statistics utilizes a method referred to as fingerprinting. It identifies devices by browser, OS, fonts, etc., without cookies.

While less invasive than cookies, it’s still a form of tracking. Awareness of its presence is important.

Let’s explore the setup procedure on your WordPress website.

Step 1: Install and Activate the Burst Statistics Plugin on WordPress

First, install and activate the Burst Statistics plugin. Go toPlugins » Add New Pluginfrom your WordPress admin panel.

Next, use the search bar to quickly locate the plugin. Then, click the ‘Install Now’ button.

Activate the plugin by clicking the ‘Activate’ button after installation. If needed, refer to a WordPress plugin installation guide for assistance.

Step 2: Configure Settings for Optimal Performance and Privacy

After activating the plugin, you can immediately enable analytics without using cookies.

To do this, go toStatistics » Settingswithin your WordPress dashboard. Ensure you are in the ‘General’ tab.

From there, activate the ‘Enable Cookieless tracking’ feature:

You have now successfully configured cookie-free WordPress analytics on your site.

Step 3: Confirming Your Analytics Setup

Unlike traditional methods, cookie-free analytics avoids storing personally identifiable information, such as IP addresses or specific user IDs, and uses anonymized, aggregated data instead.

It’s worth noting that some cookie-free methods still involve data collection, which might have privacy implications depending on the implementation.

To check if your analytics are functioning correctly, access the ‘Statistics’ menu. Here, you’ll see a graph showing your visitors and pageviews from the past week.

For a more detailed breakdown of the statistics, scroll down the page.

Here, you might notice that your sessions are counted differently.

In traditional analytics, cookies track when a visitor starts and ends a session. If the same person comes back within a certain time frame (usually 30 minutes), it’s counted as the same session.

In analytics without cookies, returning users cannot be recognized within that window. Instead, each visit is treated as a new session, even if it occurs shortly after the last one.

🤔 What does this mean for your reports? You may see a higher number of sessions than usual because visitors who leave and return within a short period won’t be grouped into a single session.

Further down the page, Burst Statistics provides a dedicated ‘Pages’ report that shows how pageviews are distributed across your site.

For example, if your ‘Compare’ report shows 9 pageviews, then you can see that 3 views came from the ‘Career’ page, 2 views from the ‘Login’ page, and so on.

FAQs About Cookieless WordPress Analytics

Still have questions? Let’s clear up some common concerns about tracking website data without cookies.

Why do websites need cookies?

Cookies store small amounts of data to remember user preferences, track user behavior, and improve the user experience. Many analytics tools use cookies to identify returning visitors and track interactions over time.

How can I add analytics to my WordPress site?

In short, you can add analytics to your WordPress site using tools like MonsterInsights, Matomo, or HubSpot.

I recommend MonsterInsights because it makes installing Google Analytics in WordPress easy. It gives you all your GA4 data in easy-to-understand reports directly in your WordPress dashboard.

For details, see this guide on how to install Google Analytics in WordPress.

Do all websites with analytics need cookie warnings?

No. If your analytics solution doesn’t store personally identifiable information (PII) or track users across sessions using cookies, then you don’t need a cookie consent banner. This is why many site owners switch to analytics without cookies.

For example, Burst Statistics is a privacy-focused analytics tool that uses fingerprinting techniques. Instead of storing cookies, it analyzes non-personal browser and device data to differentiate visitors.

Keep in mind that while this approach is technically cookieless, it is still a form of data collection that may have privacy considerations.

Will cookieless analytics affect data accuracy?

It depends on the tool you use.

Cookieless tracking may not capture user journeys in as much detail, but it still provides accurate insights into overall traffic, page views, and engagement.

Many modern cookieless analytics tools use fingerprinting techniques or server-side tracking to improve accuracy. While these methods minimize cookie usage, they still collect data in other ways, which may raise concerns about privacy.

Can I switch back to traditional analytics if needed?

Yes, most analytics solutions allow you to switch between cookieless and traditional tracking. However, if you start using cookies again, then you may need to add a cookie consent banner to comply with privacy laws.

Further Reading 📚: More WordPress Analytics Guides

I hope this article has helped you learn how to add WordPress analytics without cookies.

Want to dive deeper into WordPress analytics? Check out these guides to track and understand your website’s performance more effectively:

• How to Set Up Google Analytics Goals
• How to See Search Analytics in WordPress
• How to Easily See Your Blog Stats
• How to Track Video Analytics in WordPress
• How to Set Up WordPress Form Tracking in Google Analytics
• How to Set Up Email Newsletter Tracking in Google Analytics
• How to Add Scroll Depth Tracking in WordPress with Google Analytics
• MonsterInsights vs Site Kit (Head-to-Head Comparison)
• Google Analytics vs Jetpack Stats (In-Depth Comparison)
• Best Analytics Solutions for WordPress Users

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.