Suppose you have just started a website and installed Google Analytics 4 or running a successful business and migrated from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4. In both cases, you can be interested to know how to filter internal traffic in GA4 (Google Analytics 4). 

If you don’t filter internal traffic, the website or app data will be skewed, and GA won’t cast a light on the current situation that your business experience. As a result, all of that can bring a dramatic sequence of events that will damage your business or even cause you will go out of business.

Therefore, let’s look at how to filter internal traffic in Google Analytics 4.

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How to filter internal traffic in GA4 (Google Analytics 4)?

Likewise to Universal Analytics, Google Analytics 4 has filters and allows you to use them to filter internal traffic. 

Although Universal Analytics has a few variants for blocking internal traffic, Google Analytics 4 offers the only one at the moment – filtering internal traffic by IP address.

Time needed: 10 minutes

Here is a summary of what you should do to filter internal traffic in GA4:

  1. Define your (or your team’s) IP address

    You can use such websites as https://whatismyipaddress.com/

  2. Create a GA4 rule to detect your IP (your team’s) IP address as internal traffic

    Go to GA4 -> Admin -> Data Streams -> Web Data Stream Details -> Configure Tag Settings -> Define Internal Traffic

  3. Create a GA4 filter to block internal traffic

    Navigate to GA4 -> Admin -> Data Settings -> Data Filters

Below is a detail instruction on how to filter or block internal traffic in GA4 (Google Analytics) 4:

Step #1: Use https://whatismyipaddress.com/ to determine your IP address or the IP addresses of your team members

Step 1 determine your IP address
Check what IP address you have on the external website

Step #2: Create a rule to determine your internal traffic in Google Analytics 4

Step #2.1: Log in to your Google Analytics 4 property and visit the Admin section

Step 1 Admin Page
Open Google Analytics 4

Step #2.2: Click on “Data Streams” 

Step 2 Data Streams
Navigate to Admin -> Data Streams

Step #2.3: Click on the particular data stream to see the stream details

Step 3 Web Stream Details
Navigate to Web Stream Details

Step #2.4: Click on “Configure tag settings”

Go to “Configure tag settings” tab

Step #2.5: Click on “Show all” and select “Define Internal Traffic”

Click on “Define internal traffic”

Step #2.6: Click on “Create” button and setup the rule

  • Name a rule. For instance, “GA4 Internal Traffic”
  • “traffic_type_value” should equal “internal”
  • Select match type. For instance, “IP address equals” and provide your IP address from the first step to “value” field
  • Click on “Create” button
Set up the internal traffic to use your IP address

Step #3: Create a filter to block internal traffic in Google Analytics 4

Step #3.1: Go to Admin section in GA4 and click on Data Settings and select “Data Filters”

Go to Admin -> Data Settings -. Data Filters

Step #3.2: Click on “Create Filter” button

Create a new data filter in GA4

Step #3.3: Select “Internal Traffic” type

Select “Internal Traffic” filter

Step #3.4: Provide the following settings to the filter:

  • Name the filter. For instance, “GA4 Internal Traffic Filter”
  • “Filter Operation “ equals “Exclude”
  • Parameter name “traffic_type” equals “internal” (provide the value here you used in 2.6.1 point above)
  • Select Filter State “Testing” for testing purposes or “Active” if you want to make it live in a moment.   
  • Google will show an instruction you how to test your filter. Close it. 
Set up GA4 internal traffic filter to block your IP address

Step #4. That’s it! Google Analytics 4 will filter your internal traffic from that moment!

Although you can activate the filter immediately, I highly recommend testing it first and then returning to the settings and activating it. To test the filter, you should follow these few steps:

Test your filter before activating it
  1. Visit your website or open your app and take some actions to have some data to filter.  
  2. You should wait for 24 hours. GA4 will gather your data and shows it in the prebuilt reports.
  3. Go to Acquisition – Overview Report
  4. Click on “Add comparison” 
  5. Select dimension “Test data filter name” and select your new filter. Click “apply”.
  6. GA4 will show you the overall traffic and your internal traffic. 

When you confirm that the filter works as expected, return to step #3.4 of the instruction above and activate the filter. After you successfully tested and activated the filter, Google Analytics 4 will start to filter new data, excluding your IP data.

Final Word

Google Analytics 4 provides a way to filter internal traffic. Unlike Universal Analytics, GA4 offers only one way to do it for now – using an IP address. After you use the steps mentioned above to implement the internal traffic filter, I recommend testing it first and then activating it. After you activate it, please consider implementing a developer traffic filter that can be an excellent addition to your GA4 setup and help you debug implementations before making them live.

If you can’t set up the internal traffic filter using the steps above, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.

How do you filter out internal traffic in GA4?

You can filter the internal traffic in Google Analytics 4 using your (your team’s) IP address(es). To block it, you should define the rule to detect internal traffic first and then create a filter using the rule you created before. 

How do I block IP addresses in GA4?

You can block any IP address in Google Analytics 4. To do it, you should define the rule to detect this IP address as internal traffic first and then create a filter with this rule. 

Written By

Ihar Vakulski

With over 8 years of experience working with SaaS, iGaming, and eCommerce companies, Ihar shares expert insights on building and scaling businesses for sustainable growth and success.

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