What cannot be collected by the default Google Analytics tracking code?

Personally identifiable information (names, emails, phone numbers, exact billing details), data that could identify an individual's precise health or financial status, and any offline behavior like in-store purchases or phone calls.

Can I send PII to Google Analytics with custom code?

No. Even with custom implementation, Google's Terms of Service explicitly prohibit sending personally identifiable information to Analytics, regardless of the tracking method used.

Does Google Analytics know a visitor's exact location?

No. The default tracking code collects approximate location at the city or region level based on IP address, not precise GPS coordinates or a street address.

How can I track offline conversions like phone calls or in-store sales in GA4?

You need a separate integration beyond the default tracking code, such as offline conversion imports, a CRM integration, or server-side hits sent via the Measurement Protocol.

What Cannot Be Collected by the Default Analytics Tracking Code?

The default Google Analytics tracking code cannot collect personally identifiable information (PII) — names, email addresses, phone numbers, exact billing details — or a visitor's precise real-world identity. It also can't see offline behavior, like an in-store purchase or a phone call, unless you build a separate integration to send that data in. Google's terms of service explicitly prohibit sending PII to Analytics, and the default script isn't built to capture it in the first place.

Personally identifiable information (PII)

The default tracking code — gtag.js, or the Google tag — is not built to capture names, email addresses, physical mailing addresses, phone numbers, social security or national ID numbers, or exact credit card numbers. It records behavior (page views, clicks, scrolls) and technical context (browser, device, approximate location), not the contents of form fields or free-text input a visitor types into your site.

Even if you tried to send PII to GA4 through custom code, Google's Terms of Service explicitly prohibit it. Sending PII into Analytics is a policy violation that can get a property suspended, regardless of whether the default script happened to make it technically possible.

Precise identity, health, and financial data

Beyond basic PII, the default code also isn't designed to capture data that could identify a specific individual's health status or financial details — medical conditions, exact income, account numbers, and similar sensitive categories. Google's policies treat this the same way as PII: it's not supposed to reach Analytics, by default or otherwise.

Offline behavior

Anything that happens outside a browser or app session is invisible to the default tracking code. In-store purchases, phone call conversions, and in-person events at a trade show all fall outside what a script running on a webpage can observe — there's simply no tag firing during an offline interaction.

To bring offline activity into GA4 at all, you need a separate integration: offline conversion imports, a CRM integration, or server-side hits sent through the Measurement Protocol. None of that is part of the default tracking code — it's additional setup layered on top.

What IS collected by default

For contrast, the default tracking code does automatically collect: page URLs, referrer, approximate location at the city/region level (derived from IP address, not precise GPS geolocation), device/browser/OS information, and on-page behavior like clicks, scrolls, and time on page. These map to standard dimensions like Country, Browser, and Page Path.

It also generates anonymized, aggregated identifiers — like a randomly generated client ID stored in browser storage — used to stitch together a visitor's activity across a session or return visits. That ID isn't tied to a real name or identity; it's just a random value the browser holds onto, which is also part of why traffic with no identifiers at all often gets classified as direct traffic.

Is GA4 GDPR-compliant?

FAQ

What cannot be collected by the default Google Analytics tracking code?: Personally identifiable information (names, emails, phone numbers, exact billing details), data that could identify an individual's precise health or financial status, and any offline behavior like in-store purchases or phone calls.
Can I send PII to Google Analytics with custom code?: No. Even with custom implementation, Google's Terms of Service explicitly prohibit sending personally identifiable information to Analytics, regardless of the tracking method used.
Does Google Analytics know a visitor's exact location?: No. The default tracking code collects approximate location at the city or region level based on IP address, not precise GPS coordinates or a street address.
How can I track offline conversions like phone calls or in-store sales in GA4?: You need a separate integration beyond the default tracking code, such as offline conversion imports, a CRM integration, or server-side hits sent via the Measurement Protocol.

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