Project

Academalytics

Problem

UK universities and research institutions need to understand how their websites are used, but mainstream analytics tools like Google Analytics require complex cookie consent workflows, share visitor data with third parties, and create GDPR compliance headaches. Researchers needed a simple, ethical alternative that worked without compromise.

Approach

I built Academalytics as a privacy-first analytics platform restricted exclusively to verified .ac.uk email addresses. The tracking script is under 2KB, uses no cookies or persistent identifiers, and respects Do Not Track headers. It is hosted on Hetzner's renewable energy infrastructure — 100% hydropower, with a PUE of 1.10-1.16 — and is completely free to use. The platform provides real-time visitor stats, page views, traffic sources, and browser statistics through a clean multi-site dashboard, with CSV export and no third-party data sharing.

Outcome

Academalytics is live and in active use across multiple UK academic institutions. It demonstrates that useful, production-quality analytics can be built without any of the privacy trade-offs that make tools like Google Analytics problematic for the academic sector.