Solving GDPR Headaches with a Cookieless Analytics Tool
Like a lot of devs, I wanted basic insights into how people use my websites (page views, traffic sources, devices, geographical insights, user navigation journeys etc.) without selling out my users, having to deal with cookie banners or worrying about GDPR-compliance.
Most analytics tools are either too invasive (hello, cookie consent popups), too expensive, or stripped down to the point where they lack useful features. Some self-hosted options exist, but many store data outside the EU or still use tracking methods that aren’t fully GDPR-compliant.
So we built Betterlytics - a lightweight, open-source web analytics tool that:
Tracks page views without cookies, localstorage or personally identifiable data.
Requires no consent banner under GDPR.
Lets you self-host or use a hosted EU-based version.
Has a clean, real-time dashboard with intuitive and comprehensive insights.
It’s still early, but it’s working well for a few test users. If you’re looking for a privacy-first alternative to Google Analytics, I’d love for you to check it out and share feedback.
Live site: https://betterlytics.io
Github: https://github.com/betterlytics/betterlytics
Happy to answer any questions!
MCP for analytics is a smart move. The data access layer is the easy part to get right once you have schema and tools. The harder part is the agent's prompt. If the agent just gets "analyze this data and suggest changes", results are inconsistent. Give it explicit objectives and constraints (what metric matters, what changes are off limits) and the quality of decisions jumps.
Been building flompt for exactly this. Visual prompt builder that decomposes prompts into 12 semantic blocks and compiles to Claude-optimized XML. Makes structuring per-agent instructions much faster. Open-source: github.com/Nyrok/flompt
Super timely post — the GDPR pain is real. I’ve been looking for a privacy-first analytics option that doesn’t feel like a downgrade from GA, and Betterlytics looks really promising. Love that it skips cookies and still offers real-time insights. Excited to try it out and will share feedback soon!
Awesome Chris!
Let me know if you encounter any issues or need help getting started!
I love the look and feel of the platform and all the intent behind it, but I want to be honest and transparent in offering constructive and good intention feedback - as a user I feel doubtful about how this product would solve my GDPR headaches. I believe there is still the need for having a way for the user to opt out of analytics, even without a consent banner for more general cookies.
As a person looking to be legally compliant when I see wording like "Solving GDPR Headaches" I feel a bit doubtful as Cookies are part of being GDPR compliant, but the whole regulation is so much bigger than just that. Some people might be mislead into thinking this would solve their GDPR concerns, so carefully giving guidance to the user about what you cover and what they still need to do would be super helpful.
I hope this is useful as feedback!
Hey Yordan, thank you so much for taking the time to leave thoughtful and constructive feedback - really appreciate it!
You're absolutely right that GDPR compliance goes far beyond just cookies, and we didn’t mean to oversimplify it. That headline could definitely be clearer.
To clarify: Betterlytics doesn’t just avoid cookies - it’s designed to avoid collecting any personal data at all.
IPs are anonymized (and never stored)
Device info is categorized into non-specific buckets (e.g., “mobile” / “desktop”)
No persistent identifiers are used
All data is aggregated, and visits are salted using a daily-rotating salt to prevent re-identification over time, which aligns with the core principles of GDPR.
Because no personal data is processed (as defined under GDPR — see Recital 26), Betterlytics falls outside the scope of GDPR, meaning consent banners aren't required.
That said, you're absolutely right that compliance depends on a site’s full context. We're committed to being part of a responsible analytics ecosystem, and we’ll keep improving how we communicate what Betterlytics handles and what still falls under the site owner’s responsibility.
Thanks again! This kind of feedback really helps us shape the project in the right direction.
Love the idea, the UX and the direction of product. Keen to see where it goes!
Thank you so much for providing feedback and showing interest!
This is a real pain point. The irony is that cookie banners make your data worse, 30-40% of EU visitors reject cookies, so you're making decisions on incomplete data. Cookie-free analytics actually gives you more accurate numbers because you see everyone. I built Zenovay on this principle, no cookies, but still full-featured with heatmaps, session replay, and AI insights.