Blackhat analytics

In 2013 Phil Pearce describes what he calls black hat analytics: intentionally distorting, deleting, unethically using or hijacking web analytics data for financial gain or competitive advantage. Phil is a PPC and analytics specialist who worked on the Digital Analytics Association's Code of Ethics and in the W3C Do Not Track working group. In this talk he goes through the tracking techniques that were abused in analytics and the lawsuits companies lost over them.

You'll learn how zombie cookies, the evercookie and device signatures worked, why Google can delete your Google Analytics account over e-mail addresses in URLs, and what class actions cost in the US. Phil explains how browsers, the ad industry and regulators fight over the Do Not Track signal, and closes with a checklist for making sure your account doesn't collect personal data.