Question about the 'Anonymize my analytics data' checkbox?

orange-juice

Just came across this. If I check this box, do I opt in to share analytics data, or have I given consent to share this already so checking it adds a level of anonymity/privacy?

It's under edit my profile.

MSE_Stephen

Hi @orange-juice

This new feature increases the anonymisation of your activity within our analytics, though some elements - such as leaderboard stats like ‘most active users’ and ‘most thanks given’ - may still be tracked.

To answer your question from the documentation -

• Anonymization is not retroactive. When enabled, data anonymization will occur from that point forward.

• All user activity is still tracked, even if you choose to anonymize analytics data; it will simply no longer be tied to a user's user name or user ID. In other words, you'll still be able to report on engagement metrics but lose the specificity of knowing who is performing the activity

The new option isn't actually anonymising anything we are paying any attention to - Forum analytics are primarily used to understand general usage trends, such as which boards get the most traffic, how many new threads or replies are being posted, or what topics are popular. 

For a full picture of other ways MSE uses data, please see our Privacy Policy and Cookies Q&A