As promised on our GDPR / data protection page, we will update you anytime things change with how we use your data or what data is collected when you use our API service or visit our website.
A few days ago we stopped using Google analytics on our site. We now instead use Fathom Analytics. Update: if you too would like to try Fathom here’s an affiliate link that will get you $10 off.
We made this switch for a number of reasons:
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Google has enough info, we don’t need to give them even more.
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Fathom’s key value proposition is privacy. We pay them to run a service built around privacy for us. We are the customer, unlike Google’s murky “have the product for free, we’ll just track your users” offer.
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While we are currently using the hosted version of the Fathom service, because it is an opensource service (you can find the code here) the option is there for us to host it ourselves if we ever want to. For now we’ll test the hosted service and see how it goes, but it’s good to know we’re not locked in.
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The Fathom product ethos. Besides focusing on consumer privacy, a big driver was functionality. Google analytics has just gotten increasingly complex over time. Frankly it gets harder and harder to understand, and more and more of a slog to wade through. I kept finding myself lost in sub-menu 27 when all I wanted was basic information. Fathom quickly and clearly gives us the info we need to make decisions - all on single page.
Here’s a screenshot of their live demo site (the actual analytics for their own site).
In this regard one of Google’s biggest product challenges - in analytics, but also in many other services - is just avoiding the temptation of needlessly cluttering things up. Ever more features is rarely a path to success. This is a lesson we ourselves reflect on continually as we weigh up possible new features.
We don’t rule out ever switching back to GA (if we do we’ll announce it here), but it’s refreshing to see new services entering the market with a focus on privacy. We’re happy to try out Fathom.
As always when it comes to privacy, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Happy (private) geocoding,