Tracking Settings are part of the Core Settings in Countly. To access them, in the Sidebar, go to Management > Settings, then select Tracking from the Core Settings list.
The Tracking Settings section allows you to control how your Countly Server collects and reports usage data. These settings are divided into two main groups: self-tracking (using your own Countly instance to monitor itself) and server-level tracking (anonymized data that helps Countly improve the product).
Changes to Tracking settings require Global Admin privileges.
Self-Tracking Using Countly
Self-tracking allows you to use Countly to monitor how your team uses the Countly interface itself. You can track this data on your own server or send it to a different Countly Server. This is useful for understanding feature adoption, identifying user workflows, and gathering feedback from your team.
Configuring the Tracking Destination
You must first configure where self-tracking data should be sent. You have two options:
- Track on this server: Select an existing app from the dropdown to store self-tracking data within your own Countly instance.
- Track on another server: Provide the Server URL and App Key of an external Countly Server to send self-tracking data there.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Track using this same server by selecting an app | Select an app from the dropdown to store self-tracking data on your own server. Select "-- Not tracked --" to disable self-tracking on this server. | -- Not tracked -- |
| Track using other server, provide Server URL | The URL of an external Countly Server to send self-tracking data to. | (empty) |
| Tracking using other server, provide App Key | The App Key on the external Countly Server to use for self-tracking. | (empty) |
| What user identifier to use for self-tracking |
Determines which user property identifies tracked users. Selecting _id
provides more anonymous tracking, while selecting email allows you to
see which users are using the interface most often. No personal data is collected
or sent anywhere else. If you use the e-mail address, it will be stored on this
server and visible to the server administrator.
|
_id |
Choosing What to Track
Once you have configured the tracking destination, you can enable or disable individual tracking categories for self-tracking:
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Allow tracking self-tracking sessions | Tracks how often users access the Countly interface. | Enabled |
| Allow tracking self-tracking events | Tracks which features users interact with in the Countly interface. | Enabled |
| Allow tracking self-tracking crashes | Tracks any crashes or errors that occur in the Countly interface. | Enabled |
| Allow tracking self-tracking views | Tracks which sections users visit while using the Countly interface. | Enabled |
| Allow tracking self-tracking feedback | Enables displaying NPS surveys, ratings, and other feedback widgets targeted to specific users within the Countly interface. | Enabled |
| Allow tracking self-tracking user details | Populates user properties with information known about the tracked users. | Enabled |
Server-Level Tracking
Server-level tracking collects anonymized data that helps Countly improve the product. All data is collected at the server level and cannot be tied to any specific user. Personal user data, details, or the data you process using this server will never be collected or analyzed.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Allow tracking server uptime | Tracks server uptime and restarts. Also collects OS type and OS version information. | Enabled |
| Allow tracking feature usage | Tracks feature usage at an aggregated level. We collect aggregated data per day on how many actions were performed on the server, such as creating, editing, and deleting items. | Enabled |
| Allow tracking server errors | Tracks server errors. If any error occurs on the backend that may impact server usability, we can see the stack trace of that problem and the time when it happened. | Enabled |
| Allow tracking visited sections | Tracks which sections of the Countly interface are visited and how often, aggregated across all users on the server. | Enabled |
| Allow us to ask for feedback periodically | Enables periodic feedback requests from Countly, such as experience ratings or issue notifications. Feedback is collected anonymously and in aggregate. | Enabled |
| Allow collecting server specific properties | Tracks properties that define how the server is used, such as the number of apps on the server, the number of users using the server (only counts), the last login time, and the last time the server received data. | Enabled |
FAQ and Troubleshooting
How do I disable all tracking on my server?
To disable self-tracking, set "Track using this same server by selecting an app" to "-- Not tracked --" and leave the external server fields empty. To disable server-level tracking, toggle all server-level tracking options to disabled.
Does server-level tracking collect any personal data?
No. Server-level tracking only collects anonymized, aggregated data at the server level. Personal user data, details, or the data you process through Countly are never collected or analyzed.
How do I track my Countly usage on a separate server?
Provide the Server URL and App Key of the external Countly Server in the self-tracking configuration. Ensure that the external server is accessible from your current server and that the App Key corresponds to a valid app on the target server.