What do you need to know about activating Google Signals in the new Google Analytics 4?

When activating Google Signals, you’ll get a message prompt from Google. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Google signals is a feature that provides insights into cross-device user behaviors and demographics.

When Google Signals is activated, Google Analytics can associate visitation data with information from signed-in Google accounts.

This includes data like user location, search history, YouTube history, and data from other sites that partner with Google. Here are some key points:

1. Google Signals and Personalization: Google Analytics combines data from your site or app with user data from Google to create a broader understanding of user behavior. This can include information such as location, search and YouTube history, and more. This data is used to deliver personalized ads to users.
2. Privacy and Consent: You need to have appropriate consent from your users to use their data in this way, and you must comply with Google’s Advertising Features Policy. This policy includes rules about using sensitive categories of data. You should make sure your users can access and delete their data via “My Activity”.
3. GA4 Properties: Google Signals is fully active for app streams in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) properties. For web streams, only demographic and interest reporting is available as of now, with more features coming soon.
4. Data Sharing Settings: The message also mentions data sharing settings. By not enabling data sharing, you’re limiting the ability to improve Google’s products and services, and you’re also limiting the Enhanced Demographics and Interests Reporting feature. Google is asking you to review your settings and consider enabling data sharing, provided you have the necessary rights and disclosures in your privacy policy to share user data with Google.

In essence, if you enable Google Signals, make sure you comply with all privacy and consent regulations, have the appropriate user permissions, and ensure your privacy policy reflects this.

Also consider the implications of data sharing with Google for improving products and services.