Friendly Analytics

What is Friendly Analytics?

Friendly Analytics is a privacy-focused web analytics platform designed for individuals and businesses who want to measure website traffic without compromising visitor privacy. It offers a GDPR-compliant, cookieless alternative to traditional analytics tools like Google Analytics, emphasizing simplicity, transparency, and ethical data collection.

Rather than tracking every move of a visitor, Friendly Analytics collects only essential, anonymized information, ensuring compliance with stringent data protection laws like the GDPR (European Union), CCPA (California), and others. It typically runs from European servers and offers clear, non-invasive tracking.

Key Features

• Privacy-first design: No personal data collected, no cookies required, full GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliance.

• Cookieless tracking: Since no cookies are used, there’s no need for a cookie consent banner.

• Simple setup: A lightweight script can be easily added to your website.

• Real-time reporting: Instantly see your traffic without complex dashboards.

• Essential metrics only: Focuses on meaningful numbers like page views, referrers, top pages, devices, and locations (at a broad, non-invasive level).

• Self-hosted option: Besides their cloud-hosted version, Friendly Analytics offers self-hosting for full data ownership.

• Open-source base: Built upon Matomo (formerly Piwik), a trusted open-source analytics engine.

• Custom branding: Especially useful for agencies who want to offer analytics as a white-labeled service.

Technical Foundation

• Backend: Based on Matomo, adapted with privacy enhancements and additional simplicity.

• Hosting: Primarily in Switzerland and Germany, ensuring strong privacy protections under strict Swiss and EU law.

• Script size: The tracking script is lightweight, ensuring minimal impact on website speed (typically under 10 KB).

Use Cases

• Small Businesses: Who need basic website insights without legal risks.

• Agencies: That manage multiple client websites and require customizable reports.

• Privacy-conscious Blogs and Media: Where visitor trust and ethical handling of data are critical.

• NGOs and Educational Institutions: Where strict data policies often apply.

Pricing

Friendly Analytics operates on a subscription model, typically offering different plans based on page views and feature needs. They sometimes provide free trials and discounted rates for nonprofits.

Typically, pricing tiers scale based on:

• Number of monthly page views

• Retention period of analytics data

• Self-hosting vs. cloud hosting

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Fully GDPR-compliant without user consent banners

• Extremely fast and simple to deploy

• Ethical and transparent

• Supports data sovereignty (hosted in Europe or self-hosted)

• Open-source foundation provides reliability and flexibility

Cons:

• Limited in-depth tracking compared to heavyweights like Google Analytics 4

• No advanced marketing features like retargeting or detailed user profiling

• Might require basic technical knowledge if self-hosting

How It Differs From Alternatives

• Versus Google Analytics: No tracking of personal data, no cookies, easier GDPR compliance, simpler interface.

• Versus Plausible, Fathom, Simple Analytics: Similar philosophy (privacy-first), but Friendly Analytics leverages Matomo's flexibility for users who might later want advanced features without vendor lock-in.

Typical Metrics You Can Track

• Total visitors

• Pageviews

• Bounce rate

• Average time on site

• Top pages

• Referrer sources

• Devices and operating systems

• Broad geographic distribution (e.g., country level, not city/street)

Best Practices for Using Friendly Analytics

• Customize your dashboard to only show metrics you care about.

• Regularly audit your site’s tracking scripts to ensure you aren’t accidentally including non-privacy-friendly tools.

• If you self-host, keep the server updated for security patches.

• Inform users about your analytics, even if you don’t legally need consent (for full transparency).