Exclude internal traffic in GA4 (Google Analytics 4) via IP filter

Google Analytics 4, Google Analytics

Last Updated: September 9, 2022

This article is in conjunction with the article What are data filters in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)? where I introduced the concept of data filters. Make sure to read it first before you start blocking internal traffic.

What is internal traffic in GA4 (Google Analytics 4)?

The traffic generated by you or your employees, suppliers and other service providers to your website is called ‘Internal Traffic‘. These people are not your target audience and therefore we don’t need to track them.

Internal traffic can easily skew your website usage metrics and therefore must be filtered out from your GA4 reports.

How to exclude internal traffic in GA4?

Follow the steps below to exclude internal traffic from your reporting in GA4 property:

Step-1: Navigate to your GA4 property.

Step-2: Click on the ‘Admin’ link at the bottom left-hand side:

Admin 11

Step-3: Click on ‘Data Streams’ under the ‘Property’ column:

2

Step-4: Click on the name of the data stream for which you want to exclude internal traffic.

Data sream

Step-5: Scroll down your screen and then click on ‘More Tagging Settings’ under the ‘Additional Settings’ section:

more tagging settings 1

Step-6: Click on ‘Define internal traffic’:

Exclude internal traffic in GA4

Step-7: Click on the ‘Create’ button:

6

You should now see a screen like the one below:

Internal traffic configuration

Step-8: Give your filter a name by typing in the input box under ‘Rule Name’. Let’s name our filter ‘Internal Traffic’:

7
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Step-9: Leave the ‘traffic_type value’ as ‘internal’ since we are creating a filter to exclude internal traffic to the website:

traffic type value

You can, however, change this value if you are passing some other parameter as an internal traffic identifier.

Note: Whatever value you pass here for the ‘traffic_type value’ will be used in the data filters settings in the next step.

Step-10: Click on the drop-down menu under ‘Match Type’.

8

You should now see a drop-down list like the one below:

9

IP address equals: This option will match only one IP address. For example, ‘165.204.156.26’.

IP address begins with: This option will match all the IP addresses that begin with the provided input. For example, if you provide input as ‘165’, it will match ‘ 165.204.156.26’, ‘165.203.156.28’ but not ‘167.204.156.26’.

IP address ends with: This option will match all the IP addresses that end with the provided input. For example, if you provide input as ‘26’, it will match ‘ 165.204.156.26’, ‘167.203.155.26’ but not ‘165.204.156.28’.

IP address contains: This option will match all the IP addresses that contain the provided input. For example, if you provide input as ‘165’, it will match ‘ 165.204.156.26’, ‘190.165.156.28’ but not ‘167.204.156.26’.

IP address range: This option will match a range of IP addresses. For example from ‘165.204.156.26 to 168.208.156.28’.

Step-11: Enter the IP address from which you want to exclude your internal traffic:

type your ip address

If you want to exclude all the traffic originating from your device but you don’t know your IP address, you can then click on the link ‘What’s my IP address’:

10

You will automatically be redirected to a new tab in your browser window from where you can see your IP address:

11

Step-12: Copy your IP address and then paste it into the input box under ‘IP address’:

12

Note: You can also use an IPv6 address in the ‘IP address’ text field.

Step-13: Click on the ‘Create’ button:

13

Your new internal traffic rule will appear like the one below.

14

Step-14: Click on the cross button (at the top left of your screen) three times to navigate back to the admin section of your GA4 property.

Step-15: If you are excluding traffic from your own device then navigate to your website via your device.  If you are excluding traffic from an IP address that doesn’t belong to your device then ask the person whose IP address you added (while creating the exclude internal filter) to visit your website.

Step-16: Navigate to your ‘Realtime’ report:

realtime 2

Step-17: Click on the ‘Add Comparison’ button:

Add comparison 1

Step-18: A small overlay will appear on the right-hand side called ‘Build Comparison’. Click on the drop-down menu under ‘Dimension’:

click on the drop down menu

Step-19: Type ‘Test’ and you will see the dimension ‘Test data filter name’ available below:

build comparison test ga4

Note: If this dimension appears disabled then it is not available to you because you did not navigate to your website as mentioned in one of the previous steps.

Step-20: Click on the dimension name (‘Test data filter name’) in order to select it.

Step-21: Click on the drop-down under ‘Dimension Values’:

31

Step-22: Click on the checkbox next to ‘Internal Traffic’:

dimension value internal traffic 1

Step-23: Click on the ‘OK’ button.

Step-24: Click on the ‘Apply’ button:

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You should now see the new comparison applied to your report:

realtme overview 1

Step-25: Refresh your browser window.

You should now also be able to see the filtered data under ‘Test data filter name..”:

filtered data ga4

The real-time view in the orange column is showing us the traffic coming from the internal IP address that we defined earlier.

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This is proof that our filter is working perfectly fine and we can now make it live.

Step-26: Click on the ‘Admin’ link in your reporting interface:

Admin 10

Step-27: Click on the ‘Data Settings’ drop-down menu:

15

Step-28: Click on ‘Data Filters’.

16

Step-29: Click on the ‘Internal Traffic’ filter:

17

Step-30: Click on ‘Active’ under ‘Filter State’.

36

Step-31: Click on the ‘Save’ button in the top right-hand corner.

26

Step-32: Click on the ‘Activate Filter’ button:

activate filter ga4

You should now see the exclude internal traffic filter listed as ‘Active’:

active data filter

That’s it. Congratulations!

You have successfully set up your filter in GA4 to exclude internal traffic.

How to deactivate Exclude internal traffic data filter in GA4?

To de-activate your data filter, follow the steps below:

Step-1: Navigate to the ‘admin’ section of your GA4 property.

Step-2: Click on the ‘Data Settings’ drop-down menu under the ‘Property’ column.

Step-3: Click on ‘Data Filters’.

Step-4: Click on the three dots menu next to the data filter you want to deactivate:

deactivate data filters ga4

Step-5: Click on ‘Deactivate filter’:

deactivate data filters2 ga4

You should now see the ‘Current Status’ of your filter to ‘Inactive’:

inactive data filters ga4

How to reactivate Exclude internal traffic data filter in GA4?

To reactivate your data filter, follow the steps below:

Step-1: Navigate to the ‘admin’ section of your GA4 property.

Step-2: Click on the ‘Data Settings’ drop-down menu under the ‘Property’ column.

Step-3: Click on ‘Data Filters’.

Step-4: Click on the three dots menu next to the data filter you want to re-activate:

re activate data filter ga4

Step-5: Click on ‘Activate filter‘:

activate filter ga4 1

Step-6: Click on ‘Activate filter‘ button:

activate filter2 ga4

How to edit an Exclude Internal traffic data filter in GA4?

To edit your data filter, follow the steps below:

Step-1: Navigate to the ‘admin’ section of your GA4 property.

Step-2: Click on the ‘Data Settings’ drop-down menu under the ‘Property’ column:

Step-3: Click on ‘Data Filters’.

Step-4: Click on the data filter you want to edit:

delete data filter ga4

Step-6: Make necessary changes and then click on the ‘Save’ button.

How to delete an Exclude Internal traffic data filter in GA4?

To delete your data filter, follow the steps below:

Step-1: Navigate to the ‘admin’ section of your GA4 property.

Step-2: Click on the ‘Data Settings’ drop-down menu under the ‘Property’ column:

Step-3: Click on ‘Data Filters’.

Step-4: Click on the data filter you want to delete:

delete data filter ga4

Step-5: Click on the three dots menu at the top right-hand side of your screen:

three dots menu

Step-6: Click on ‘Delete’:

delete data filter2 ga4

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Frequently Asked Questions About Exclude internal traffic in GA4 via IP filter

What are data filters in Google Analytics 4?

Data filters are used to include or exclude event data (traffic) from your reports based on the event parameters value.

Using filters, you can exclude traffic coming to your website from your developers or internal employees. You can also use data filters to include only traffic coming from specific event parameter values.

These filters are configured at the property level and are applied to every data stream.

What are filter type in Google Analytics 4?

Currently, GA4 supports two types of filters:

1. Developer Traffic: Developer traffic is generated from your device while debugging the analytics implementation. GA4 defines developer traffic as the event data with the parameter name ‘debug_mode’ or ‘debug_event’ and parameter value ‘1’.

2. Internal Traffic: Internal traffic is the traffic coming to your website from your own employees, suppliers, and other service providers.

What is the IP filter in Google Analytics 4?

When you apply a data filter using an IP address, such filters are called IP filters. You can exclude or include traffic from a specific IP address. You can use the below conditions to define your IP address.

IP address equals: This option will match only one IP address. For example, ‘165.204.156.26’.

IP address begins with: This option will match all the IP addresses that begin with the provided input. For example, if you provide input as ‘165’, it will match ‘ 165.204.156.26’, ‘165.203.156.28’ but not ‘167.204.156.26’.

IP address ends with: This option will match all the IP addresses that end with the provided input. For example, if you provide input as ‘26’, it will match ‘ 165.204.156.26’, ‘167.203.155.26’ but not ‘165.204.156.28’.

IP address contains: This option will match all the IP addresses that contain the provided input. For example, if you provide input as ‘165’, it will match ‘ 165.204.156.26’, ‘190.165.156.28’ but not ‘167.204.156.26’.

IP address range: This option will match a range of IP addresses. For example, from ‘165.204.156.26 to 168.208.156.28’.

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