Privacy and Progress: Finding the Balance

At my previous company (where we had the pleasure of working with—what I believe to be—Germany’s toughest Datenschutzaufsichtsbehörde (that’s the data protection authority, for the non-Germans among us), one thing became very clear: privacy is paramount.

Of course, I was already aware of that, being a tracked website visitor myself 24/7. But they were really tough cookies—they even asked us to remove the external scripts that were technically necessary to load our Consent Management Platform service.

And while I’m firmly in team “pro-privacy,” there’s a reality we all face: if you run a website, you need to understand how people are using it.

After all, a website is your digital storefront. Imagine running a brick-and-mortar shop without knowing:

• How many customers walk in.
• How long they browse.
• How many leave without buying anything.

That’d be like flying blind. And yet, in all this observation, one thing is clear: store employees don’t need, want, or care about your personal life. They’re focused on patterns and behaviors that help improve the shopping experience—not on your favorite band or your health history (okay, maybe that last one if it’s an online pharmacy!).

Think about a physical store. The staff might greet you with a “Can I help you?” as you walk in. They’ll notice how long you stay and if you leave without buying. But they’re not asking for your medical records or favorite childhood memory. Their job is to understand how the store can do better:

• Should umbrellas be moved to the front of the store because it’s raining?
• Should they rearrange shelves to make popular items easier to find?
• Should they have more staff at the counter during peak hours?

These aren’t intrusive questions—they’re operational ones. And this is exactly the mindset we should have when tracking websites.

Unfortunately, online tracking has earned a bad reputation—and not without reason. Too often, it crosses the line from helpful to creepy:

• Tracking everything about you without consent.
• Storing sensitive information that’s unnecessary for the business.
• Using data in ways customers never expected.

This isn’t just bad for users; it’s bad for businesses. A lack of trust leads to ad blockers, opt-outs, and a whole host of issues that make tracking ineffective.

At Edgora, we believe it’s possible to track website usage responsibly. Like the staff in a physical store, we focus on understanding behavior without identity.

Here’s how:

• Collect only what’s necessary. We don’t need to know your favorite song or your dog’s name to optimize a website.
• Aggregate, don’t identify. Our insights focus on trends and patterns, not individual users.
• Be transparent. Customers should know what’s being tracked and why—and they should have control.

This isn’t just about following regulations; it’s about building trust. And in a world where privacy concerns are growing, trust is everything.

Privacy and progress don’t have to be at odds. With the right approach, we can respect user privacy while gaining the insights we need to improve. It’s about balance—understanding that data isn’t about individuals; it’s about experiences.

At Edgora, this philosophy drives everything we build. Because we believe the web can be both private and powerful.