Earlier today I removed Google Analytics script from my website. Long time ago I switched to self hosted fonts instead of Google Fonts. That means, as of today, my blog is completely Google free.
Google Analytics is a great product, but I probably used up to five percent of it's features. Still I had a fear of missing out. That's why I delayed pulling the plug for so many months.
I've tried a lot of other solutions, but they all felt either too complex or too simplistic. In the end, I did find the replacement.
GoatCounter
It has a funky name, GoatCounter. It is open source and privacy respecting. There isn't nearly as much data, but it is all the data I need. You should check it out. It has a generous free tier for non-commercial websites - but please consider donating or contributing as it is a work of a single developer. And he is doing a great job, every time I open the dashboard, there is something new or polished.
Why?
It is simple: "If you don't pay for it, you are the product".
All these Google services are free because they are collecting data on every visitor. It is one thing to use their email service for my personal needs, but having it on my website, enforcing it on my readers just doesn't feel right.