Umami: A Privacy-Focused Google Analytics Alternative You Should Know

If you’ve ever cringed at the idea of handing over your website’s analytics to Google—or just wanted something simpler, faster, and more respectful of user privacy—Umami might be your new best friend.

This open-source project has been quietly gaining traction (27k+ GitHub stars at the time of writing) as a lightweight, self-hostable analytics tool that doesn’t track users across the web or bombard you with unnecessary complexity.

What It Does

Umami is a privacy-first, cookie-free web analytics platform designed to give you the essential metrics—page views, referral sources, device breakdowns—without invasive tracking. It’s built with:

• Next.js (frontend)
• PostgreSQL/MySQL (database)
• A tiny (~2KB) tracking script

Unlike Google Analytics, it doesn’t collect personal data, respects Do Not Track, and can be self-hosted with minimal resources.

Why It’s Cool

• No cookies, no GDPR headaches: Umami doesn’t use cookies or store IP addresses, making compliance simpler.
• Fast and lightweight: The dashboard is snappy, and the tracker won’t slow down your site.
• Self-hosted or cloud: Run it on your own infra or use their hosted version (umami.is).
• Open-source and extensible: MIT-licensed, so you can tweak it to fit your needs.

How to Try It

1. Quickest way: Use the official demo (no setup needed).
2. Self-host: Deploy with Docker in minutes:

   docker-compose up -d
   

   (Check the GitHub repo for full setup details.)

Final Thoughts

Umami isn’t for everyone—if you need advanced segmentation or ad-tech integrations, stick with GA. But for developers who want simple, ethical analytics without the bloat, it’s a fantastic alternative.

Give it a spin, and you might never go back to those clunky, privacy-questionable dashboards again.

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