Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.
What detecting Google Analytics tells you about a site
Google Analytics is the web's default traffic-measurement tool, and it is unmistakable: the gtag.js (GA4) or legacy analytics.js script loaded from Google's host, plus network beacons carrying a measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXX) or older tracking ID (UA-XXXXXXXX). Detecting it tells you essentially nothing about the application architecture — almost everyone runs it — but the ID format is a useful era marker, and its mere presence confirms the site is being measured for marketing and audience insight rather than flying blind.
The detail that matters for Google Analytics
A UA- property ID is now a fossil — Universal Analytics stopped processing data in 2023 — so catching a still-firing UA- tag means the site has stale, dead tracking code that should have been migrated to GA4's G- measurement ID.
Google Analytics in a real-world stack
When you find Google Analytics, it rarely travels alone. Nearly always deployed through Google Tag Manager, and commonly beside Google Ads conversion tags and a product-analytics tool for deeper behaviour.
About
Google Analytics is a free web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.
Categories: Analytics
Quick facts
Detection methodology for Analytics
Analytics SDKs are usually loaded from a vendor-controlled CDN (`googletagmanager.com`, `google-analytics.com`, `cdn.segment.com`, `cdn.amplitude.com`, `eu.i.posthog.com`) and expose a global with a recognisable surface. We catch the script src URL plus the global plus — when a sourcemap is available — the exact `node_modules/<sdk>/package.json` version. Tracker isolation prevents these vendor libraries from polluting the surrounding stack readings.
How we detect Google Analytics
Sourcemap Explorer carries 11 fingerprint signals for Google Analytics, spread across 4 channels — cookie, javascript global, script src url and dom selector. The exact patterns are listed below, and you can replay each one in Chrome DevTools to confirm a match by hand.
Each signal alone is rarely conclusive — Sourcemap Explorer cross-references all of them and weights by confidence. You can reproduce any of these checks yourself in Chrome DevTools.
Cookies set by the platform. Visible in DevTools → Application → Cookies.
__utma
_ga
_ga_*
_gat
Window-level global the technology installs on page. Reproducible by typing the path into the DevTools console.
window.GoogleAnalyticsObject
window.gaGlobal
Script URL pattern. Typically a CDN host or chunk path that ships with the technology.
google-analytics\.com/(?:ga|urchin|analytics)\.js
googletagmanager\.com/gtag/js
gtag\([^)]+'(UA-)
gtag\([^)]+'(G-)
A DOM selector that only this technology's pages render. Verified at runtime by the content script.
amp-analytics[type*=googleanalytics]
FAQ
How do I check if a website is using Google Analytics?
Open the page in Chrome, click the Sourcemap Explorer toolbar icon, and read the Stack tab. Google Analytics's specific fingerprints here are cookie, javascript global, script src url and dom selector, and the popup flags Google Analytics whenever any combination of them is found. The same checks can be reproduced manually in DevTools — see the "How we detect" section above.
What Google Analytics version can Sourcemap Explorer detect?
Google Analytics ships as a hosted analytics rather than a bundled npm package, so version-specific detection isn't always possible. Where the platform leaks a version in response headers (`X-Powered-By`, `Server`, generator meta tags) we surface it; otherwise we report presence only.
Where can I read more about Google Analytics?
Official site: https://google.com/analytics. For Sourcemap Explorer's detection guide, see the deep-dive link below or the related guides in the cross-link section.
Keep reading on Sourcemap Explorer
Practical guides
Alternative tools
Detected by Sourcemap Explorer
Open the popup on any page running Google Analyticsand you'll see the exact version pulled from the bundled package.json when sourcemaps are exposed.