How do I opt out of Google Analytics in Chrome?
If you are looking for the Google Analytics opt-out option in the Chrome browser, carry on reading. It’s not very long but it contains the step-by-step instructions for opting out of Google Analytics for your site, based on what I did.
Opting out of Google Analytics in Chrome is all about installing a Chrome browser add-on.
If you landed here but were looking for the Firefox or Safari solution, you should go here.
If you landed here directly and want to learn more about the question, go and have a look in the previous post.
If you have arrived here after following one of the links in the previous post, you’re probably in the right place.
Starting the Google Analytics opt-out Process.
First, you need to find the “Get Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on” button. You can use the link or you can click on the image below.
At this point, it’s simple. You probably don’t need me to tell you but you should be clicking on the blue button.
The blue button takes you to the chrome web store.
The add-on dialogue announces that the add-on is made by Google. If you scroll down the page, you can read the overview confirming that the purpose of the extension is to tell the Google Analytics JavaScript not to send the browsing data to Google Analytics.
Now click the “Add to Chrome” button.
You will see the following dialogue panel.
Obviously … click Add extension.
Once the process has completed, you will see the Google Browser Add-on confirmation panel. This means you have been successful.
Completing the Google Analytics opt-out Process
You still need to tell it what it needs to do.
Once the installation is complete, the add-on appears in the extension bar at the top right of the browser window. Initially, the icon is monochrome. It changes colour when it’s doing something.
Click on the icon and select “Manage extensions“.
You can now hide your browsing activity from Google Analytics by giving the opt-out add-on your site address.
Any page monitored by Google Analytics will include the same bit of JavaScript, so the opt-out add-on is able to prevent ALL analytic data being sent to Google Analytics.
You can hide your activity on your site, or you can hide your activity on all sites.
You may or may not want this.
The choice is yours.
Finally
The main reason for me to install the add-on was the impact on the page-view analysis. I couldn’t tell which pages were popular with visitors, because they were all popular with me. I was landing on pages and it was hiding what the visitors were doing.
Installing the opt-out add-on has changed all that.
This is the basic approach to a Google Analytics opt-out. I have covered most of what you will need, but if you need a bit more help, there’s a Google Help Page.
