Disabling Google Analytics

Since implementing Google Analytics in some sections of our Web site, TechSoup Global has received several questions about how the service impacts user privacy. The information below is intended to address some of those questions and encourage users to make their own responsible decisions. We take feedback and concerns from the community seriously. If you have any questions about our use of Google Analytics, or suggestions for how we could supplement this information to better educate our users, please contact Lea Policoff, Senior Director of Community, or share your thoughts in this Town Hall forum discussion.

Blocking cookies and javascript on a Google Analytics-enabled site

TechSoup.org uses Google Analytics data to better serve our users and constituents, and to improve overall user experience on the site; however, you may choose to disable this feature by following the steps outlined here.

Note: Disabling cookies and/or Javascript may affect your general browsing experience and ability to perform certain functions on this and other sites. Test various settings to ensure that the changes you make do not adversely affect the tasks you wish to perform. If you have further questions about this functionality and need guidance, pose a question in our community forums, and check out our article Understanding Cookies and Their Effect on Your Privacy.

System administrators and advanced users can employ a variety of methods to disable Google Analytics. The instructions below can allow adjustments that can block cookies only on certain websites or make your browsing entirely anonymous. This can be done on an operating system, browser, or network level.

You can modify your hosts file to refer google-analytics.com and ssl.google-analytics.com to your localhost IP address 127.0.0.1. In Windows, the file is located in:

%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts.

Where system root is likely to be WINDOWS or WINNT.
In Mac OS X systems, the file is located in:

/private/etc/hosts

Internet Explorer 8 features InPrivate Browsing and InPrivate Fltering options. Using InPrivate Browsing mode, no cookies or histories are stored within the InPrivate Browsing session. Using InPrivate Filtering, third-party content such as Google Analytics will be blocked. These features can be accessed by using the Safety Option on the upper right side of the browser window.
Firefox 3.5 has a similar Private Browsing mode, where cookies and other browsing information not stored. This can be accessed from Tools > Start Private Browsing. There are also third party add-ons like AdBlock Plus, NoScript, and CS Lite that would allow you to have more granular controls for specific URLs you wish to block.
Safari versions 3 and 4 offer a Private Browsing mode, under the Safari menu.
You can modify your firewall or network appliance's setting to drop traffic going to google-analytics.com or ssl.google-analytics.com. This will affect all visits originating from your network.

Other techniques may be available for different versions of popular browsers that may not be defined in this article. Using a simple browser search term like "blocking cookies and Javascript" will yield a variety of results that can help you customize your privacy settings for your particular needs.

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