Replace Google Analytics without legal risk
For public sector organisations that know GA4 is a problem, but are not sure how to switch.
Google Analytics 4 is the most widely used analytics platform in the world. For Dutch public sector organisations, that popularity does not match the legal reality. govanalytics is the alternative that is GDPR-compliant by design, not by configuration.
Why GA4 is a problem for public sector organisations
Data is sent to American servers
Google Analytics transfers visitor data to servers in the US. Under default settings, this involves personal data and conflicts with the GDPR.
"GDPR-ready" is not a DPIA
A marketing claim on a Google website is not a legal basis. A valid legal basis is found in a document your DPO can sign, not in a checkbox inside a cookie settings panel.
Cookie banners are a symptom
If you need consent to measure your own services, you are measuring in the wrong way. Consent management is not a solution to a flawed architectural choice.
Built for commercial optimisation
GA4 was designed for advertising performance and e-commerce. The compliance overhead for public sector use was added on, not designed in. You notice this in the DPIA, the data processing agreement and the export options.
How govanalytics solves it
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GDPR-compliant by design
No IP storage, no personal data, no cookies. The legal basis is built into the architecture, not the configuration.
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Hosted in the Netherlands
All data stays on Dutch servers within the EU. No American parent company, no Schrems II risk. Compliant with the Dutch Baseline Information Security for Government (BIO).
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Complete processing documentation
DPIA template, data processing agreement and records of processing activities are available. Documentation your DPO and procurement team can assess directly.
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Your existing tagging keeps working
govanalytics supports the GA4 Measurement Protocol and the Matomo protocol. Your GTM container, custom events and UTM parameters continue to work. You change where the data goes, not what happens on your website.
Migration in a few days to a week
Both systems can run in parallel. You send the same events to GA4 and govanalytics simultaneously, compare reports over a few weeks, and only switch off GA4 when the data matches what you expect.
- 01 Create a govanalytics account and add tracking alongside GA4 or Matomo, or switch directly to the govanalytics native tracker.
- 02 Run in parallel: compare data for 2 to 4 weeks.
- 03 Switch off the GA4 tag once govanalytics data is stable.
- 04 Update your DPIA and records of processing activities.