{"id":101349,"date":"2025-02-21T11:11:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T11:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/analytics\/obfuscate-and-duplicate-google-analytics-data\/"},"modified":"2025-02-21T11:11:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T11:11:20","slug":"obfuscate-and-duplicate-google-analytics-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=101349","title":{"rendered":"Obfuscate And Duplicate Google Analytics Data"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Perhaps you didn\u2019t know this, but there\u2019s a really handy demo account<\/a> for Google Analytics<\/a> you can use to check out how Google Analytics works in a real<\/strong> business context (the data is from the Google Merchandise Store<\/a>). However, you can access the account with nothing more than read-only<\/strong> access. This is annoying if you wanted to customize the setup.<\/p>\n

Worry not, I have a solution for you! Harnessing the awesome power of customTask<\/code><\/a>, you can create a duplicate of the data collected on any<\/strong> website where you can modify the tracking (e.g. via Google Tag Manager<\/a>). Even better, the data will be obfuscated<\/strong> using a dictionary of English words (you can edit this list), and hashing each string in the payload predictably against this dictionary.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\"Obfuscated<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As always, you can find this solution in my customTask Builder tool<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\"customTask<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Huge thanks to Jaakko Ojalehto<\/strong>, my illustrious 8-bit-sheep<\/a> developer colleague. He came up with the string replacement algorithm.<\/p>\n


\n X<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n The Simmer Newsletter<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n

\n Subscribe to the Simmer newsletter<\/a> to get the latest news and content from Simo Ahava into your email inbox!\n <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

How to set it up<\/h2>\n

You\u2019ll want to fetch the latest version of the code from the customTask Builder tool<\/a>. See also the instructions for how to deploy the customTask<\/code><\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Google Tag Manager, the Custom JavaScript variable<\/strong> will end up looking something like this:<\/p>\n

\n
function<\/span> () {\n  \/\/ customTask Builder by Simo Ahava\n<\/span>  \/\/\n<\/span>  \/\/ More information about customTask: https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/analytics\/customtask-the-guide\/\n<\/span>  \/\/\n<\/span>  \/\/ Change the default values for the settings below.\n<\/span>\n  \/\/ obfuscate: Obfuscates the entire hit payload (using a dictionary of words consistently) and dispatches it to the trackingId you provide.\n<\/span>  \/\/ https:\/\/bit.ly\/2RectUl\n<\/span>  var<\/span> obfuscate = {\n    tid: 'UA-12345-1'<\/span>,\n    dict: ['tumble'<\/span>, 'noble'<\/span>, 'flourish'<\/span>, 'abandon'<\/span>, 'liberal'<\/span>, 'team'<\/span>, 'conflict'<\/span>, 'collar'<\/span>, 'tiger'<\/span>, 'stun'<\/span>, 'grace'<\/span>, 'resource'<\/span>, 'phantom'<\/span>, 'imagine'<\/span>, 'information'<\/span>, 'hall'<\/span>, 'sweet'<\/span>, 'agriculture'<\/span>, 'bingo'<\/span>, 'relative'<\/span>],\n    stringParams: ['uid'<\/span>,'ua'<\/span>,'dr'<\/span>,'cn'<\/span>,'cs'<\/span>,'cm'<\/span>,'ck'<\/span>,'cc'<\/span>,'ci'<\/span>,'gclid'<\/span>,'dclid'<\/span>,'dl'<\/span>,'dh'<\/span>,'dp'<\/span>,'dt'<\/span>,'cd'<\/span>,'cg[1-5]'<\/span>,'linkid'<\/span>,'an'<\/span>,'aid'<\/span>,'av'<\/span>,'aiid'<\/span>,'ec'<\/span>,'ea'<\/span>,'el'<\/span>,'ti'<\/span>,'ta'<\/span>,'in'<\/span>,'ic'<\/span>,'iv'<\/span>,'pr\\\\d{1,3}id'<\/span>,'pr\\\\d{1,3}nm'<\/span>,'pr\\\\d{1,3}br'<\/span>,'pr\\\\d{1,3}ca'<\/span>,'pr\\\\d{1,3}va'<\/span>,'pr\\\\d{1,3}cc'<\/span>,'pr\\\\d{1,3}cd\\\\d{1,3}'<\/span>,'tcc'<\/span>,'pal'<\/span>,'col'<\/span>,'il\\\\d{1,3}nm'<\/span>,'il\\\\d{1,3}pi\\\\d{1,3}id'<\/span>,'il\\\\d{1,3}pi\\\\d{1,3}nm'<\/span>,'il\\\\d{1,3}pi\\\\d{1,3}br'<\/span>,'il\\\\d{1,3}pi\\\\d{1,3}ca'<\/span>,'il\\\\d{1,3}pi\\\\d{1,3}va'<\/span>,'il\\\\d{1,3}pi\\\\d{1,3}cd\\\\d{1,3}'<\/span>,'promo\\\\d{1,3}id'<\/span>,'promo\\\\d{1,3}nm'<\/span>,'promo\\\\d{1,3}cr'<\/span>,'promo\\\\d{1,3}ps'<\/span>,'sn'<\/span>,'sa'<\/span>,'st'<\/span>,'utc'<\/span>,'utv'<\/span>,'utl'<\/span>,'exd'<\/span>,'cd\\\\d{1,3}'<\/span>,'xid'<\/span>,'exp'<\/span>,'_utmz'<\/span>],\n    priceParams: ['tr'<\/span>,'ts'<\/span>,'tt'<\/span>,'ip'<\/span>,'pr\\\\d{1,3}pr'<\/span>,'id\\\\d{1,3}pi\\\\d{1,3}pr'<\/span>],\n    priceModifier: Math<\/span>.random(),\n    medium: ['organic'<\/span>, 'referral'<\/span>, 'social'<\/span>, 'cpc'<\/span>],\n    replaceString: function<\/span>(t){if<\/span>(''<\/span>===t)return<\/span> t;'function'<\/span>==typeof<\/span> window<\/span>.btoa&&(t=btoa(t));var<\/span> n=t.split(''<\/span>).map(function<\/span>(t){return<\/span> t.charCodeAt(0<\/span>)}).join(''<\/span>)%obfuscate.dict.length;return<\/span> obfuscate.dict[n]},\n    init: function<\/span>(){var<\/span> c=[];obfuscate.dict.forEach(function<\/span>(t){obfuscate.dict.forEach(function<\/span>(o){c.push(t+'-'<\/span>+o)})}),obfuscate.dict=obfuscate.dict.concat(c)}\n  };\n\n  \/\/ DO NOT EDIT ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE\n<\/span>  if<\/span> (typeof<\/span> obfuscate === 'object'<\/span> && typeof<\/span> obfuscate.init === 'function'<\/span>) obfuscate.init();\n\n  var<\/span> readFromStorage = function<\/span> (key) {\n    if<\/span> (!window<\/span>.Storage) {\n      \/\/ From: https:\/\/stackoverflow.com\/a\/15724300\/2367037\n<\/span>      var<\/span> value = '; '<\/span> + document<\/span>.cookie;\n      var<\/span> parts = value.split('; '<\/span> + key + '='<\/span>);\n      if<\/span> (parts.length === 2<\/span>) {\n        return<\/span> parts.pop().split(';'<\/span>).shift();\n      }\n    } else<\/span> {\n      return<\/span> window<\/span>.localStorage.getItem(key);\n    }\n  };\n\n  var<\/span> writeToStorage = function<\/span> (key, value, expireDays) {\n    if<\/span> (!window<\/span>.Storage) {\n      var<\/span> expiresDate = new<\/span> Date<\/span>();\n      expiresDate.setDate(expiresDate.getDate() + expireDays);\n      document<\/span>.cookie = key + '='<\/span> + value + ';expires='<\/span> + expiresDate.toUTCString();\n    } else<\/span> {\n      window<\/span>.localStorage.setItem(key, value);\n    }\n  };\n\n  var<\/span> globalSendHitTaskName   = '_ga_originalSendHitTask'<\/span>;\n\n  return<\/span> function<\/span> (customTaskModel) {\n\n    window<\/span>[globalSendHitTaskName] = window<\/span>[globalSendHitTaskName] || customTaskModel.get('sendHitTask'<\/span>);\n\n    customTaskModel.set('sendHitTask'<\/span>, function<\/span> (sendHitTaskModel) {\n\n      var<\/span> originalSendHitTaskModel = sendHitTaskModel,\n          originalSendHitTask      = window<\/span>[globalSendHitTaskName],\n          canSendHit               = true<\/span>;\n\n      try<\/span> {\n\n        if<\/span> (canSendHit) {\n          originalSendHitTask(sendHitTaskModel);\n        }\n\n        \/\/ obfuscate\n<\/span>        if<\/span> (typeof<\/span> obfuscate === 'object'<\/span> && obfuscate.hasOwnProperty('tid'<\/span>) && obfuscate.hasOwnProperty('dict'<\/span>) && obfuscate.hasOwnProperty('stringParams'<\/span>) && obfuscate.hasOwnProperty('priceParams'<\/span>) && obfuscate.hasOwnProperty('replaceString'<\/span>) && obfuscate.hasOwnProperty('priceModifier'<\/span>)) {\n          var<\/span> _o_hitPayload = sendHitTaskModel.get('hitPayload'<\/span>);\n          obfuscate.stringParams.forEach(function<\/span>(strParam) {\n            var<\/span> regexParam = new<\/span> RegExp<\/span>('[?&]'<\/span> + strParam + '=[^&]+'<\/span>, 'g'<\/span>);\n            var<\/span> paramsInHitpayload = _o_hitPayload.match(regexParam) || [];\n            paramsInHitpayload.forEach(function<\/span>(keyValue) {\n              var<\/span> parts = keyValue.split('='<\/span>);\n              var<\/span> urlParts = parts[1<\/span>].split('%2F'<\/span>).map(function<\/span>(urlPart) {\n                if<\/span> (\/https?:\/<\/span>.test(decodeURIComponent<\/span>(urlPart))) return<\/span> urlPart;\n                return<\/span> urlPart.split('%20'<\/span>).map(function<\/span>(wordPart) {\n                  return<\/span> obfuscate.replaceString(wordPart);\n                }).join('%20'<\/span>);\n              }).join('%2F'<\/span>);\n              _o_hitPayload = _o_hitPayload.replace(parts.join('='<\/span>), parts[0<\/span>] + '='<\/span> + urlParts);\n            });\n          });\n          obfuscate.priceParams.forEach(function<\/span>(prParam) {\n            var<\/span> regexParam = new<\/span> RegExp<\/span>('[?&]'<\/span> + prParam + '=[^&]+'<\/span>, 'g'<\/span>);\n            var<\/span> paramsInHitpayload = _o_hitPayload.match(regexParam) || [];\n            paramsInHitpayload.forEach(function<\/span>(keyValue) {\n              var<\/span> parts = keyValue.split('='<\/span>);\n              var<\/span> price = parseFloat<\/span>(parts[1<\/span>]) || 0.00<\/span>;\n              price = (price * obfuscate.priceModifier).toFixed(2<\/span>);\n              _o_hitPayload = _o_hitPayload.replace(parts.join('='<\/span>), parts[0<\/span>] + '='<\/span> + price);\n            });\n          });\n          _o_hitPayload = _o_hitPayload\n            .replace(\n              '&tid='<\/span> + sendHitTaskModel.get('trackingId'<\/span>) + '&'<\/span>, \n              '&tid='<\/span> + obfuscate.tid + '&'<\/span>\n            )\n            .replace(\/[?&]aip($|&|=[^&]*)\/<\/span>, ''<\/span>)\n            .replace(\/[?&]c[sm]=[^&]*\/g<\/span>, ''<\/span>)\n            .replace(\/[?&]uip=[^&]*\/g<\/span>, ''<\/span>);\n          if<\/span> (Math<\/span>.random() 0.10) {\n            _o_hitPayload += \n              '&cs='<\/span> + obfuscate.dict[Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random()*obfuscate.dict.length)] + \n              '&cm='<\/span> + obfuscate.medium[Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random()*obfuscate.medium.length)];\n          }\n          _o_hitPayload += '&uip='<\/span> + \n            (Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random() * 255<\/span>) + 1<\/span>) + '.'<\/span> +\n            (Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random() * 255<\/span>) + 0<\/span>) + '.'<\/span> +\n            (Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random() * 255<\/span>) + 0<\/span>) + '.'<\/span> +\n            (Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random() * 255<\/span>) + 0<\/span>);\n          _o_hitPayload += '&aip=1'<\/span>;\n          sendHitTaskModel.set('hitPayload'<\/span>, _o_hitPayload, true<\/span>);\n          originalSendHitTask(sendHitTaskModel);\n        }\n        \/\/ \/obfuscate\n<\/span>\n      } catch<\/span>(err) {\n        originalSendHitTask(originalSendHitTaskModel);\n      }\n\n    });\n\n  };\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n
That\u2019s quite a bit of code, because it turns out that obfuscating the data consistently and taking care of all the other possible pitfalls with duplicating Google Analytics data isn\u2019t exactly trivial.<\/p>\n
Anyway, to set the thing up, you\u2019ll need to edit the configuration object within the var obfuscate = {...}<\/code> block. Here are the configuration keys and how to use them. Note!<\/strong> All the keys are required for the solution to work. If you remove one of the keys, obfuscation will be aborted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Key<\/th>\nInitial value<\/th>\nDescription<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
trackingId<\/code><\/td>\nUA-12345-1<\/code><\/td>\nThe Tracking ID to which you want the data to be dispatched. Only one tracking ID is supported at this time.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
dict<\/code><\/td>\n['tumble', 'noble'...]<\/code><\/td>\nThe dictionary of words that will be used. Don\u2019t add too many (20 should suffice). When the function is initialized, it will automatically generate compound words from every item in the dictionary.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
stringParams<\/code><\/td>\n['uid','ua'...]<\/code><\/td>\nAll the Measurement Protocol parameters<\/a> that will be treated as strings and will be replaced with words in the dictionary. The parameter names are regular expression patterns.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
priceParams<\/code><\/td>\n['tr','ts'...]<\/code><\/td>\nAll the Measurement Protocol parameters that will be treated as prices and will be modified with the priceModifier<\/code> value (see below). The parameter names are regular expression patterns.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
priceModifier<\/code><\/td>\nMath.random()<\/code><\/td>\nThe modifier which will be used to modify all prices in the payload. The initial value (Math.random()<\/code>) basically means that prices will be modified with a random percentage between 0.00 and 1.00.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
medium<\/code><\/td>\n['organic', 'referral'...]<\/code><\/td>\nThe list of campaign media that will be randomly assigned to 10% of hits (to get some source\/medium variance).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
replaceString<\/code><\/td>\nfunction<\/code><\/td>\nInternal function, do not modify<\/strong>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
init<\/code><\/td>\nfunction<\/code><\/td>\nInternal function, do not modify<\/strong>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
You\u2019ll want to edit trackingId<\/code> at the very least. the other configurations have completely functional default values, so there\u2019s no need to touch them unless you want to. For example, you might want to rewrite the dict<\/code> to include words that actually have to do with some real industry.<\/p>\n
To get most out of your data, you\u2019ll want to add this customTask<\/code> to all the hits dispatched to a Google Analytics property from your website. That way you\u2019ll get the most comprehensive and realistic data set.<\/p>\n
How it works<\/h2>\n
The obfuscation itself is fairly complex.<\/p>\n
First, when tag is first run, the obfuscator is initialized<\/strong>. This initialization basically takes your dictionary of words, and generates a compound of every word against every other word in the dictionary. Thus the final length of the dictionary is n + n^2<\/code> squared, where n<\/code> is the initial length of the dictionary. For example, if this is your initial dictionary:<\/p>\n
['baby', 'rock', 'sweet']<\/code><\/p>\n
The final dictionary will be:<\/p>\n
['baby', 'rock', 'sweet', 'baby-baby', baby-rock', 'baby-sweet', 'rock-baby', 'rock-rock', 'rock-sweet', 'sweet-baby', 'sweet-rock', 'sweet-sweet']<\/code><\/p>\n
The obfuscation itself is a multi-step process.<\/p>\n
    \n
  1. First<\/strong>, all string parameters from the configuration are looped through. If a match is made in the payload, then the value of the string parameter is first turned into a Base64<\/strong> representation, and then a simple algorithm is used to turn this encoded string into a number, which is then compressed into an index number of the dictionary.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n
    obfuscate.stringParams.forEach(function<\/span>(strParam) {\n  var<\/span> regexParam = new<\/span> RegExp<\/span>('[?&]'<\/span> + strParam + '=[^&]+'<\/span>, 'g'<\/span>);\n  var<\/span> paramsInHitpayload = _o_hitPayload.match(regexParam) || [];\n  paramsInHitpayload.forEach(function<\/span>(keyValue) {\n    var<\/span> parts = keyValue.split('='<\/span>);\n    var<\/span> urlParts = parts[1<\/span>].split('%2F'<\/span>).map(function<\/span>(urlPart) {\n      if<\/span> (\/https?:\/<\/span>.test(decodeURIComponent<\/span>(urlPart))) return<\/span> urlPart;\n      return<\/span> urlPart.split('%20'<\/span>).map(function<\/span>(wordPart) {\n        return<\/span> obfuscate.replaceString(wordPart);\n      }).join('%20'<\/span>);\n    }).join('%2F'<\/span>);\n    _o_hitPayload = _o_hitPayload.replace(parts.join('='<\/span>), parts[0<\/span>] + '='<\/span> + urlParts);\n  });\n});\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n
    This means that every single string will have a consistent counterpart in the dictionary. Some strings will naturally return the same dictionary word, but that\u2019s ok since we\u2019re not going for perfect traceability here, and this will also make it even more difficult to reverse-engineer the translated strings back to their original representations.<\/p>\n
    If the string is found to have a \/<\/code> symbol, then each word separated by the slash will be translated separately. This way URLs will be kept intact. In a similar vein, if the string has http:<\/code> or https:<\/code>, then the protocol will not<\/strong> be translated, because GA requires valid URLs in certain parameters.<\/p>\n
    Finally, if the strings are comprised of words (separated by whitespace), then each word is translated separately.<\/p>\n
      \n
    1. Next<\/strong>, the price parameters are matched in a similar way against the hit payload. If a match is made, then the price is modified by the priceModifier<\/code> from the configuration. Each price using this tracker is modified with the same modifier.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
      obfuscate.priceParams.forEach(function<\/span>(prParam) {\n  var<\/span> regexParam = new<\/span> RegExp<\/span>('[?&]'<\/span> + prParam + '=[^&]+'<\/span>, 'g'<\/span>);\n  var<\/span> paramsInHitpayload = _o_hitPayload.match(regexParam) || [];\n  paramsInHitpayload.forEach(function<\/span>(keyValue) {\n    var<\/span> parts = keyValue.split('='<\/span>);\n    var<\/span> price = parseFloat<\/span>(parts[1<\/span>]) || 0.00<\/span>;\n    price = (price * obfuscate.priceModifier).toFixed(2<\/span>);\n    _o_hitPayload = _o_hitPayload.replace(parts.join('='<\/span>), parts[0<\/span>] + '='<\/span> + price);\n  });\n});\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n
        \n
      1. Then<\/strong>, the tracking ID in the payload is replaced by the one you provide in the configuration object. At the same time, the parameters aip<\/code>, cs<\/code>, cm<\/code>, and uip<\/code> (for Anonymize IP, Campaign Source, Campaign Medium, and Override IP, respectively) are removed from the payload.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
        _o_hitPayload = _o_hitPayload\n  .replace(\n    '&tid='<\/span> + sendHitTaskModel.get('trackingId'<\/span>) + '&'<\/span>, \n    '&tid='<\/span> + obfuscate.tid + '&'<\/span>\n  )\n  .replace(\/[?&]aip($|&|=[^&]*)\/<\/span>, ''<\/span>)\n  .replace(\/[?&]c[sm]=[^&]*\/g<\/span>, ''<\/span>)\n  .replace(\/[?&]uip=[^&]*\/g<\/span>, ''<\/span>);\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n
          \n
        1. Finally<\/strong>, 10% of all hits are assigned a random campaign source (from the dictionary), with a random medium from the list of medium<\/code> you provided in the configuration.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
              <\/p>\n
              \"Example<\/p>\n
              <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
          Also, a random IP address is generated for the hit. Yes, every hit.<\/p>\n
          Then, the IP address is anonymized with the Anonymize IP parameter.<\/p>\n
          \n
          if<\/span> (Math<\/span>.random() 0.10) {\n  _o_hitPayload += \n    '&cs='<\/span> + obfuscate.dict[Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random()*obfuscate.dict.length)] + \n    '&cm='<\/span> + obfuscate.medium[Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random()*obfuscate.medium.length)];\n}\n_o_hitPayload += '&uip='<\/span> + \n  (Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random() * 255<\/span>) + 1<\/span>) + '.'<\/span> +\n  (Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random() * 255<\/span>) + 0<\/span>) + '.'<\/span> +\n  (Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random() * 255<\/span>) + 0<\/span>) + '.'<\/span> +\n  (Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.random() * 255<\/span>) + 0<\/span>);\n_o_hitPayload += '&aip=1'<\/span>;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n
          Modifying the IP addresses like this leads to interesting data in the list of service providers:<\/p>\n
          \n
              <\/p>\n
              \"service<\/p>\n
              <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
          The last thing that happens is that the hit is dispatched<\/strong> to the Tracking ID you provided.<\/p>\n
          \n
          sendHitTaskModel.set('hitPayload'<\/span>, _o_hitPayload, true<\/span>);\noriginalSendHitTask(sendHitTaskModel);\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n
          Caveats<\/h2>\n
          It\u2019s not a perfect<\/strong> duplication of the data. Here are some the things the script has trouble with:<\/p>\n