Google Analytics ipv6 vs ipv4 – Exclude Internal Traffic

Google Analytics

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If your company is very big with hundreds or even thousands of employees and it is not possible for you to force every employee/supplier/stakeholder to use the ‘Google Analytics Opt-out add on’ (which is, by the way, the most efficient way to block internal traffic in Google Analytics) then consider using IP based view filters to block internal traffic in Google Analytics.

But before we move forward with setting up and testing IPv6 based view filter, let us take a quick recap of IP addresses.

Introduction to IPv6 vs IPv4 IP addresses

IPv6 (or Internet protocol version 6) is the protocol designed to replace the current IPv4 (or Internet protocol version 4). IPv6 protocol has been developed so that more users and devices can communicate with each other on the internet.

You can create and assign more IP addresses by using IPv6 than by using IPv4. This is because IPv4 addresses are 32 bits longs. Whereas IPv6 addresses are 128 bits long.

Following is an example of IPv4 based IP address:

172.24.213.0

Following is an example of IPv6 based IP address:

2a02:c7f:a82d:8d00:4551:b3c9:7387:8802

To determine both the IPv4 and Ipv6 IP addresses of your computer, use this tool: http://test-ipv6.com/

Note: An Ipv6 address assign to you can change any day any time, just like an IPv4 address.

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Excluding internal traffic via Google Analytics IPv6 based view filters

In order to block internal traffic via Google Analytics IPv6 based filter follow the steps below:

Step-1: Determine your IPv6 based IP address from here: http://test-ipv6.com/ and make a note of it.

Step-2: Navigate to the ‘admin’ section of your main view in Google Analytics and then click on the ‘Filters’ link under the ‘View’ column:

ga view filter

Step-3: Click on the ‘Add Filter’ button and then set up the new filter as shown below:

google analytics ipv6

Step-4: Once you have added your IPv6 address then click on the ‘save’ button.

Note: View filters can take some time to start working. So do not immediately start testing your filter. Wait for 15-20 min before you start testing.

Related Article: How to turn on IP Anonymization in Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager

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Himanshu Sharma

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