docs: add blog post on privacy-first website analytics with Tianji

Author: moonrailgun

website/blog/2025-08-31-privacy-first-website-analytics-with-tianji.md

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+---
+title: "Privacy‑first Website Analytics, Without the Creepiness"
+slug: privacy-first-website-analytics-tianji
+description: "Cookie‑less, IP‑anonymized analytics that respects users yet keeps your product decisions sharp — powered by Tianji."
+tags:
+  - Analytics
+  - Privacy
+  - Compliance
+  - Self‑host
+  - Tianji
+---
+
+# Privacy‑first Website Analytics, Without the Creepiness
+
+[![privacy lock and data](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1614064642261-3ccbfafa481b?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1200)](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1614064642261-3ccbfafa481b?crop=entropy&cs=srgb&fm=jpg&q=85)
+
+Most teams want trustworthy product signals without shadow‑tracking their users. This post outlines how to run a privacy‑first analytics stack that is cookie‑less, IP‑anonymized, and compliant by default — and how Tianji helps you ship that in minutes.
+
+## What “privacy‑first” really means
+
+- No third‑party cookies or fingerprinting
+- IP and geo anonymization at ingestion time
+- Minimization and aggregation by default (store only what you act on)
+- Short retention windows with configurable TTLs
+- Clear data governance: self‑hosted or region‑pinned
+
+[![you are being watched vs privacy](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1534157327728-accacabda257?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1200)](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1534157327728-accacabda257?crop=entropy&cs=srgb&fm=jpg&q=85)
+
+Privacy is not the absence of insight. It is the discipline to collect the minimum, aggregate early, and keep identities out of the loop unless users explicitly consent.
+
+## What you still get (and need) for product decisions
+
+[![analytics dashboards](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1551288049-bebda4e38f71?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1200)](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1551288049-bebda4e38f71?crop=entropy&cs=srgb&fm=jpg&q=85)
+
+- Page views, sessions, referrers, UTM cohorts (sans cookies)
+- Conversion funnels and drop‑offs on critical paths
+- Lightweight event telemetry for product behaviors
+- Country/region trends with differential privacy techniques
+- Content insights that help editorial and SEO without tracking people
+
+## How Tianji implements privacy by design
+
+Tianji bundles `Website Analytics` + `Uptime Monitor` + `Server Status` into one platform, so you get product and reliability signals together — without data sprawl.
+
+1. Cookie‑less tracking script with hashing and salt rotation
+2. IP truncation and geo mapping via in‑house database
+3. Aggregation and TTL policies at the storage layer
+4. Self‑host, air‑gapped, or region‑pinned deployments
+5. Open APIs and export for audits
+
+See docs: [Website Tracking Script](/docs/website/track-script), [Telemetry Intro](/docs/telemetry/intro), and [Server Status Reporter](/docs/server-status/server-status-reporter).
+
+## Deployment options (pick your trust boundary)
+
+[![on‑prem server lights](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1556607356-d6a622ea735f?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1200)](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1556607356-d6a622ea735f?crop=entropy&cs=srgb&fm=jpg&q=85)
+
+- Self‑host with Docker Compose for full data control
+- Region‑pinned cloud install if you prefer managed ops
+- Hybrid: analytics in‑house, public status pages outside
+
+Install in minutes:
+
+```bash
+wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/msgbyte/tianji/master/docker-compose.yml
+docker compose up -d
+```
+
+Default account is `admin`/`admin` — remember to change the password.
+
+## Policy templates you can copy
+
+Use these defaults to start, then tighten as needed:
+
+- Retention: 30 days for raw events, 180 days for aggregates
+- IP handling: drop last 2 octets (IPv4) or /64 (IPv6)
+- PII: deny‑list at ingestion; allow only hashed user IDs under consent
+- Geography: pin storage to your primary user region
+- Access: least privilege with audit logging enabled
+
+## Implementation checklist
+
+- Map your product’s critical funnels and decide what to measure
+- Deploy Tianji with cookie‑less website tracking and telemetry events
+- Turn on IP truncation, geo anonymization, and retention TTLs
+- Build cohorts by campaign and page groups, not people
+- Review monthly: decision value vs. data cost — trim aggressively
+
+## Closing
+
+[![privacy culture](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1576297185621-93ed9df5ca9a?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1200)](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1576297185621-93ed9df5ca9a?crop=entropy&cs=srgb&fm=jpg&q=85)
+
+Privacy‑first analytics is not just possible — it’s the default you should expect. With Tianji, you get actionable product and reliability signals without surveilling users. Less creepiness, more clarity.