User Data Protection Settings
This document provides detailed explanations and guidance for each setting within the Data Protection section of the WP Statistics plugin. These settings help you manage how user data is collected and processed on your website, with a focus on enhancing user privacy and aiding in compliance with privacy regulations.
Disclaimer
Before making any changes, it is essential to note that while WP Statistics provides features to support privacy compliance, the use of this plugin alone does not guarantee compliance with GDPR or other privacy regulations. Compliance is dependent on how you use the plugin along with other practices on your website.
To ensure that your website is fully compliant with GDPR and other privacy regulations, you should consult with a legal professional who specializes in data protection and privacy laws. This consultation will help you understand the nuances of the law as they apply to your specific website or business practice.
Anonymize IP Addresses
What it does: This option masks the last part of your visitors’ IP addresses, ensuring their privacy is maintained by not storing their complete IP address.
Why use it: It’s especially important for GDPR compliance in the European Union, as well as other privacy laws worldwide that require anonymization of personal data.
Example: If a visitor’s IP is 123.456.789.012, with anonymization enabled, it would be stored as 123.456.789.***.
Hash IP Addresses
What it does: This feature converts the IP address into a hashed format, a string of characters that doesn’t reveal the original IP address, which adds an extra layer of privacy.
Why use it: Hashing is recommended for enhancing privacy as it is a form of pseudonymization encouraged by the GDPR.
Example: The visitor’s IP 123.456.789.012 may be hashed into a format like “1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j”.
Related guides:
Store Entire User Agent String
What it does: This setting, when enabled, stores detailed information about the user’s browser and operating system, which can be useful for debugging.
Why use it: It’s helpful for troubleshooting but not recommended for long-term use as it could store identifiable information.
Example: If a visitor is using Chrome on Windows 10, the user agent string might be something like “Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/58.0.3029.110”.
Note: This option is disabled automatically if ‘Hash IP Addresses’ is enabled.
Do Not Track (DNT)
What it does: Respects the browser’s DNT setting that users can activate if they prefer not to be tracked.
Why use it: While not legally required, honoring DNT can build trust with your users by respecting their privacy choices.
Example: If a user has DNT enabled and visits your website, WP Statistics will not record their visit, meaning their visit won’t show up in your analytics.
Note: Enabling DNT may affect the accuracy of your website analytics.
Also, See: Do Not Track
