Google's First-Party Mode vs. Server-Side Tracking: A Comparison

As the digital landscape evolves, Google is introducing its first-party mode, currently in beta, to enhance how websites load scripts and manage data. This new mode allows websites to load scripts from their own domain instead of third-party domains like googletagmanager.com. While this offers some benefits, it’s crucial to understand its scope and limitations, especially compared to full server-side tracking solutions like JENTIS and ssGTM.

What is Google’s First-Party Mode?

Google’s first-party mode introduces an intermediary layer between the website and Google’s services. In a standard setup, your website requests a Google tag from a Google domain (e.g., www.googletagmanager.com), and when the tag fires, it sends measurement requests directly to Google’s servers. In contrast, the first-party mode allows your website to load the Google tag from your own domain (e.g., http://example.com). When the tag fires, it sends measurement requests to your domain, which then forwards them to Google. This setup can be implemented using your Content Delivery Network (CDN), load balancer, or web server.

Advantages of First-Party Mode

Google’s first-party mode offers several advantages. It adds a layer of data security and allows for more privacy controls, including full IP obfuscation, without compromising measurement capabilities. Additionally, since the Google script is loaded and data is sent through your domain, AdBlockers might not detect and block these scripts. This mode also addresses Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), as Safari will recognize the server setting the cookie as part of the same domain, allowing for better tracking.

Why It is Not a Replacement for Server-Side Tracking

Despite these benefits, Google’s first-party mode is not a replacement for server-side tracking due to the issue of data control. In first-party mode, data goes directly from your website to Google through your CDN, without giving you full control over what data is shared. This new infrastructure essentially forwards client-side data to Google through the client’s domain but lacks the crucial features of a full server-side tracking solution. Customers do not get full control of their data and cannot decide what and how data is shared with third parties. Only a server-side tag manager allows customers to own their data before sharing it.

Although it is called “first-party” mode, this infrastructure is more similar to client-side tagging or third-party tracking, where the tools have complete control of the data captured instead of the website’s owner. Besides the inability to control what gets shared with Google, customers are also unable to enrich their data, create rules, or connect databases to combine more valuable data with the tools they use. Additionally, server-side tracking can offload computations to your server, improving your website’s performance. This is not the case with Google’s first-party mode, which does not provide the same performance benefits.

JENTIS: The Full Server-Side Solution

For those looking for comprehensive data control and privacy, JENTIS offers significant advantages over Google’s first-party mode. With JENTIS, you have complete control over your data, as only the JENTIS script runs on your website. You can connect over 100 client-side and server-side tools, circumvent AdBlockers while being privacy-sensitive, offering features like Essential Mode, EU Hosting, and data transformation capabilities.

Conclusion

While Google’s first-party mode offers some improvements in data privacy and the ability to bypass AdBlockers, it falls short of the comprehensive control and benefits provided by server-side tracking solutions like JENTIS.

For more information on how JENTIS can transform your data management and privacy, read here.

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