Google Analytics 4 Data Retention Settings 101

Google Analytics 4 Data Retention Settings 101
Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

With Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google has added many advanced and privacy-centric features. Many of the features make our lives easier and add value to our analysis. Some features, however, may prevent you from collecting data the way you were used to with Universal Analytics (UA).

Today we will discuss one of these features: Data Retention Settings. It is important to understand these settings as they affect how long Google saves your historic GA4 data. 

Background

In both UA and GA4 profiles, the data retention can be adjusted by the end user. However, in UA it is defaulted to 26 months and in GA4 it is defaulted to two months. In UA, you can also set it to not automatically expire.

GA4 is more privacy-centric, however. Because of this, data retention settings have changed. There is no longer a “Do not automatically expire” setting. You MUST pick an expiry time for every single GA4 profile you create.

Furthermore, and most importantly, GA4 defaults to two months of historical data max for standard and 360 properties. Therefore, if you do NOT adjust this setting, your historical data will ONLY go back two months. In other words, you will LOSE historical data.

How It Works

Let’s say you left the retention setting at two months. A user comes to your site, and then comes back three months later. In a custom report spanning this time period, this user would show as two new users. Why? Even if you have the “Reset on new activity” option set to ON but the user does not initiate a new session within the expiry period, the user data is deleted after two months. Therefore, the user is treated as a new user after this time period.

Adjusting the Setting

Fortunately, it is very easy to adjust the data retention setting in GA4.

In your GA4 profile go into the “Admin” section. Next, click “Data Settings -> Data Retention”

Here, select your data retention period. We suggest 14 months for standard and 360 accounts. For most organizations there is no justification for retention beyond 14 months. However, you should select what is dictated by your company’s data retention policies. If there is a legitimate use case for extending beyond 14 months, make sure it is clearly documented for compliance.

What about My Historical Data?

If your retention period was not set to the desired maximum (or you are past the maximum time), your data is unfortunately gone from Google’s servers. The only way to preserve historical data is to export it to BigQuery or another cloud-based system. Keep in mind that the data retention setting does not affect standard aggregated reports—it only affects Explorations.  

Takeaways

  • Check your GA4 profiles for their data retention settings and set them to 14 months or for 360 users to the maximum allowed by your organization.
  • Check any new GA4 profiles for data retention settings right after creating them.
  • Consider setting up BigQuery or other cloud-based storage if you wish to retain historical data past the retention period.

Do you have questions about data retention settings?

Our team of digital analytics experts is here to help whenever you need us.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Originally Published: May 3, 2023
May 3, 2023

Other Articles You Will Enjoy

What Do Media Companies Need to Know about Google Analytics 4?

What Do Media Companies Need to Know about Google Analytics 4?

So we all know that Google Analytics 4 is coming and coming fast. And we know if you use Google Analytics that you will…

6-minute read
Moving from Universal Analytics Settings Variables to Google Analytics 4 Configuration Tags in Google Tag Manager: Overview and Benefits

Moving from Universal Analytics Settings Variables to Google Analytics 4 Configuration Tags in Google Tag Manager: Overview and Benefits

You are most likely familiar with the Universal Analytics (UA) settings variable. This lets you define your Google Analytics (GA) property and any parameters…

3-minute read
Creating or Modifying Events in Google Analytics 4 UI

Creating or Modifying Events in Google Analytics 4 UI

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) allows you to create or modify events within the GA4 UI at the property level. This feature can be found…

4-minute read
How Do User Behavior, Implementation Error, and Google Analytics 4 Settings Impact (Not Set) in Landing Page Reports?

How Do User Behavior, Implementation Error, and Google Analytics 4 Settings Impact (Not Set) in Landing Page Reports?

Recently, InfoTrust consultants have received many questions related to (not set) in the Google Analytics (GA4) landing page reports. Whenever clients see a large…

3-minute read
Completing the Measurement Puzzle: A Closer Look at Google Analytics 4 and Quantum Metrics

Completing the Measurement Puzzle: A Closer Look at Google Analytics 4 and Quantum Metrics

Many businesses own both Google Analytics (GA) and Quantum Metrics (QM) as part of their analytics deck. As leading analytics platforms, users can take…

4-minute read
Boxing vs. Digital Analytics: A Comparison of Two Disciplines

Boxing vs. Digital Analytics: A Comparison of Two Disciplines

Boxing and digital analytics may seem like two very different activities, but they actually have a lot in common. Both require discipline, focus, and…

5-minute read
Overview of Audiences in Google Analytics 4

Overview of Audiences in Google Analytics 4

As a website owner or digital marketer, it’s crucial to understand your website visitors’ behavior to make informed decisions. That’s where audience overview in…

3-minute read
Understanding Facebook CAPI Integration with Google Analytics 4 Using Server-Side Google Tag Manager

Understanding Facebook CAPI Integration with Google Analytics 4 Using Server-Side Google Tag Manager

One of the most sought-out solutions happens to be how to use Facebook Conversions API with the server-side implementation in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)….

6-minute read
Better Conversion Data with Looker Studio

Better Conversion Data with Looker Studio

Conversion rates are a simple percentage of “how many people visited my website vs. how many people fulfilled the site’s objective?” As kids, that…

8-minute read

Get Your Assessment

Thank you! We will be in touch with your results soon.
{{ field.placeholder }}
{{ option.name }}

Talk To Us

Talk To Us

Receive Book Updates

Fill out this form to receive email announcements about Crawl, Walk, Run: Advancing Analytics Maturity with Google Marketing Platform. This includes pre-sale dates, official publishing dates, and more.

Search InfoTrust

Leave Us A Review

Leave a review and let us know how we’re doing. Only actual clients, please.