Up to date
Published
Updated on
4 min read

Trevor I. Lasn

Staff Software Engineer, Engineering Manager

Why I moved from Google Analytics to Simple Analytics

I ditched Google Analytics for a privacy-focused analytics tool that bypasses ad blockers

I stared at my Google Analytics dashboard, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data. Bounce rates, user flows, behavior tracking - it was all too much. I just wanted to know how many people read my blog posts. That’s it. No tracking, no personal data, just simple numbers.

After trying various analytics tools, I kept hitting the same wall: ad blockers. My numbers were way off, which was a problem when talking to sponsors.

The solution turned out to be simple: I set up a custom subdomain for my analytics. Instead of loading scripts from simpleanalytics.com (which ad blockers instantly block), my analytics now load from my own domain - api.trevorlasn.com.

Simple Analytics

All it took was adding one CNAME record in my DNS settings. My visitor counts finally matched my server logs. See the full setup guide here.

The final straw came when I realized my analytics setup was part of the problem I wanted to solve. Here I was, writing about web development best practices and privacy, while running scripts that tracked my visitors’ every move. It felt hypocritical.

I needed something different. Something that aligned with my values. That’s when I found Simple Analytics.

First off, it’s built and hosted in the EU, which means serious privacy regulations. But what really got me was their philosophy - they believe in an internet that’s friendly to website visitors. No cookies. No personal data collection. Just clean, simple analytics.

Simple Analytics Dashboard

That’s it. No behavior tracking, no user profiles, no creepy stuff. Just the numbers I need to understand my blog’s reach.

Performance

Analytics scripts should only load in production. I use defer to ensure it loads after the page content - it weighs just 4KiB gzipped and doesn’t block rendering at all.

Here’s my Lighthouse mobile performance score with Simple Analytics enabled:

Performance

The script only loads in production import.meta.env.PROD, and I added a fallback for users with JavaScript disabled. I’m using Astro, but you could implement similar production-only loading with Next.js, Remix, or any other modern framework.

JavaScript
{
import.meta.env.PROD && (
<>
<script defer src="https://api.trevorlasn.com/latest.js" />
<noscript>
<img
src="https://api.trevorlasn.com/noscript.gif"
alt=""
referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"
/>
</noscript>
</>
)
}

I’m on the paid team plan because of my traffic volume. While it’s more than Google Analytics (which is free), I see it as an investment in both my values and my readers’ privacy.

Think about it this way: if you’re spending hours creating content, don’t you want accurate data about who’s reading it? Without fighting ad blockers or feeling guilty about privacy invasion?

Is It Right for You?

If you’re like me - someone who just wants clean, honest analytics without the privacy headaches - then yes, Simple Analytics might be perfect. But if you need deep user behavior analysis or complex conversion tracking, you might want to look elsewhere.

Remember, sometimes less is more. In an age where we’re drowning in data, there’s something refreshing about just getting the numbers you actually need.

I believe we’re seeing a shift in web analytics. The era of tracking everything just because we can is ending. More developers are realizing that:

  • Most analytics data never gets used
  • Privacy is becoming a competitive advantage
  • Simple metrics often tell you everything you need to know

For me, moving to Simple Analytics wasn’t just about getting better numbers - it was about aligning my tools with my values. Sometimes the simple solution really is the best one.


Found this article helpful? You might enjoy my free newsletter. I share dev tips and insights to help you grow your coding skills and advance your tech career.

Interested in supporting this blog in exchange for a shoutout? Get in touch.


Liked this post?

Check out these related articles that might be useful for you. They cover similar topics and provide additional insights.

Tech
3 min read

Honey Quietly Hijacked Creator Revenue Through Affiliate Link Switching

Honey's controversial affiliate link practices and what it teaches us about Silicon Valley's ethics

Jan 4, 2025
Read article
Tech
3 min read

Open-source is where dreams go to die

Work for free and in return watch your passion get crushed by entitled users who are never satisfied

Feb 26, 2025
Read article
Tech
3 min read

The Crutch Effect: How AI Tools Became A Crutch

Introducing The Crutch Effect

Sep 13, 2024
Read article
Tech
5 min read

Cloudflare's AI Content Control: Savior or Threat to the Open Web?

How Cloudflare's new AI management tools could revolutionize content creation, potentially reshaping the internet landscape for both website owners and AI companies.

Sep 24, 2024
Read article
Tech
5 min read

Pkl: Apple's New Configuration Language That Could Replace JSON and YAML

A deep dive into Pkl, Apple's configuration language that aims to replace JSON and YAML

Nov 1, 2024
Read article
Tech
3 min read

When Will We Have Our First AI CEO?

Welcome to the future of corporate leadership. It's efficient, profitable, and utterly inhuman

Nov 4, 2024
Read article
Tech
5 min read

Cloudflare Study: 39% of Companies Losing Control of Their IT and Security Environment

New research reveals a shocking loss of control in corporate IT environments

Oct 3, 2024
Read article
Tech
10 min read

Amazon's Rise to Tech Titan: A Story of Relentless Innovation

How Jeff Bezos' 'Day 1' philosophy turned an online bookstore into a global powerhouse

Sep 30, 2024
Read article
Tech
4 min read

No, Quantum Computers Won't Break All Encryption

Symmetric encryption algorithms like Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) are largely quantum-resistant already

Oct 31, 2024
Read article

This article was originally published on https://www.trevorlasn.com/blog/simple-analytics. It was written by a human and polished using grammar tools for clarity.