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Optimizing GA4 Integration: Excluding Unwanted Parameters in GTM Server Side
Hey there, I just set up a GTM server side container with GA4 and it seems to be jiving well with the client space. I’ve been testing it out and the preview is definitely working. I’m trying to be a bit more low key with my data though and don’t really want to send the IP to analytics. I went ahead and excluded the ip_override parameters in the GA4 tag’s ‘Parameters to Exclude’ section but to be honest, I’m not 100% confident I got it right. You got any tips on how I could check everything’s above board and working like it should?
Also, when I was snooping around in the preview, I noticed this ‘outgoing HTTP request from Server’ and in the ‘Request URL’ post, there was a value _uip that had the IP. Now, unless I’m getting my wires crossed, I didn’t expect to see that there if everything was working right. Can you throw some light on that for me?
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2 Replies
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First off, great job on setting up a server side container for your Google Tag Manager with GA4 integration. Now, to validate whether you have properly excluded the ‘ip_override’ parameter, you could use Google Analytics real-time reports or inspect network requests in your browser for a ‘ga’ request that includes the IP parameter. This will help confirm whether IP information is still being sent despite your efforts to exclude it.
As for the ‘_uip’ parameter you noticed in the ‘outgoing HTTP request from server’ section, it essentially serves to override the IP address for the hit and is used for geolocation. If IP anonymization is enabled (which seems to be what you’re aiming for), you indeed should not see the ‘_uip’ parameter containing the IP. However, the ‘_uip’ parameter being present doesn’t necessarily confirm that the IP is being sent and used for geolocation. To ensure that IP addresses are kept anonymous, I would also recommend applying IP anonymization at the platform level and not just on the GA4 tag. That way, you’re not reliant on individual tags for the anonymization.
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Even if you’ve excluded the ‘ip_override’, server-side GTM often sends the IP in a ‘_uip’ field. To be sure you’re not sending IPs to Google Analytics, you can add a custom JavaScript variable in GTM that returns an anonymized IP (like ‘0.0.0.0’) and use this variable for ‘ip_override’. Check your previews again to confirm whether the IP is still visible or not. In case it’s too complex, consider seeking help from a developer.
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