Google Warns Of Low Realtime Data In Universal Analytics Reports

credit: Matt Southern

The Real-Time report in Google Analytics is impacted by an issue affecting Universal Analytics properties only.

Google warns the Real-Time report in Google Analytics may be displaying inaccurate data for Universal Analytics properties.

If your Google Analytics account is impacted by this issue, realtime data for your Universal Analytics properties will appear lower than it actually is.

The only way to be sure your realtime data is accurate is to migrate to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), if you haven’t already.

Google published the warning about inaccurate data at the top of a Help Center article, which was spotted by Charles Farina.

The warning reads:

“You may notice low realtime data in the Real-Time report in your Universal Analytics property. To get the most accurate realtime data, it’s recommended that you use the Realtime report in a Google Analytics 4 property.”

What Does This Mean For My Website?

Any unusual drops in your realtime metrics as of late can potentially be attributed to this issue affecting Universal Analytics properties.

Again, the only way to know for sure is to check the realtime report in a GA4 property.

Since the issue affects Universal Analytics properties only, it’s unlikely Google will make fixing it a priority.

Perhaps the adoption of GA4 will be accelerated by the loss of accurate realtime data reporting, which can be a major inconvenience to a lot of people.

If you are seeing any discrepancies in your data, please contact the experts at SPYDERwebmarketing.com to help, 833 377 9337 or info@spyderwebmarketing.com