The probably most common cause for Personally Identifiable Information (PII) leaking into analytics tools is through the URL of the website. This Variable Template for Google Tag Manager Server-Side (SGTM) fixes this problem by making it possible to Exclude or Whitelist Query String Parameters from the URL.
Images of the Template is at the bottom.
This Template is available in the Google Tag Manager Template Gallery.
As standard page_location is chosen, but you can use any Variable containing a valid URL as input.
| Setting | Example Output |
|---|---|
| Page URL with Parameters | https:https://domain.com/path?query=something |
| Page URL without Parameters | https:https://domain.com/path |
| Page Path with Parameters | /path?query=something |
| Parameters with Question Mark | ?query=something |
| Parameters without Question Mark | query=something |
Parameter matching is by default Case Sensitive. By ticking this box, all incoming parameters will be set to lowercase, making it easier to match parameters.
Redact possible email adresses independent of the Parameter matching. Also Whitelisted parameters will be checked and redacted if an email is found.
If an email is found, the email adress will be replaced with [EMAIL REDACTED].
Example: https:https://domain.com/?query=[EMAIL REDACTED]
You can either Whitelist or Exclude Parameters.
Whitelist means only parameters listed are allowed to pass through. This is the safest option for not allowing PII parameters leaking into your analytics and marketing tools. If you choose this option, it's important that you add all parameters that you need. That can be campaign tracking parameters and internal search parameters.
Exclude can also be used as a method for blocking PII parameters. It's less "safe" than using Whitelist, but are added as an option. With this method, add parameters you don't want to be passed through to your analytics tool.
If you choose Remove, you remove the parameter and the parameter value. Choosing Redact means that the parameter will be kept, but the value will be redacted. Example: query=[REDACTED].
You can add parameters using a table or a text field. Add the parameters to the table/texxt field that you want to Whitelist/Exclude.
In the GA4 example setup below, 1 extra GA4 parameter has been created (page_query_string). Settings below:
- page_location with Page URL Parameters Whitelisted and other Parameters Removed.
- Query String without Question Mark, Whitelisted and other Parameters Redacted is sent to parameter page_query_string.
We overwrite page_location with the new URL where Parameters are Whitelisted and other Parameters removed. To page_query_string we send the Query String with the Whitelisted Parameters other Parameters as Redacted.
| Settings | Allowed parameters | page_location input | page_location output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page URL with Parameters (removed) | query | https:https://domain.com/path?query=something&secondparam=something-else | https:https://domain.com/path?query=something |
| Parameters without Question Mark (redacted) | query | https:https://domain.com/path?query=something&secondparam=something-else | query=something&secondparam=[REDACTED] |
In the Universal Analytics example setup below, 3 different variables have been created:
- Page URL with Parameters Whitelisted and Removed
- Query String without Question Mark, Whitelisted and Redacted
- Referral with Parameters Whitelisted and Removed
We overwrite page_location with the new URL where parameters are Whitelisted and other Parameters removed. To Custom Dimension 1 (cd1) we send the Query String with the Whitelisted Parameters and other Parameters as Redacted. We overwrite page_referral with the new Referral where parameters are Whitelisted and other Parameters removed.
Using this setup we get "clean" URLs and referrals, while we at the same time can investigate what other parameters are in use.
Variable Template (Server) for Google Tag Manager that Exclude or Whitelist Query String Parameters.
