Privacy modes
Aggregate by default, journeys when you turn them on. What each one can and cannot answer.
Aggregate is the default and counts without any way to follow a person. Journey adds readable visits, and it can wait for consent.
Side by side
| Topic | Aggregate | Journey |
|---|---|---|
| On by default | Yes | No, you turn it on |
| Cookies | None | None |
| Session key | None, anywhere. The collector drops one if it ever appears. | A random id for one browser tab, kept in session storage |
| Session length | No sessions | Ends after 30 minutes idle, never lasts past 24 hours |
| What you can see | Views, sources, pages, devices, countries, events and goals | All of that, plus sessions, timelines, funnels, entry and exit pages |
| Conversion rate | Goals divided by views | Goals divided by sessions |
| Raw events kept (default) | 7 days, with no session key, then only totals remain | 7 days, then only totals remain |
| Totals kept (default) | 13 months | 13 months |
What aggregate mode gives up
With no session key, Little Friend can't tell that two page views came from the same visit. So there are no timelines, no multi-page funnels and no returning-visitor counts. Sources still reach goals, but only within a single page view: a custom event carries the referrer and campaign of the page it happened on.
A number aggregate mode can't compute shows as unavailable, never as zero.
Turn on journeys, with consent
<script defer src="https://cdn.littlefriend.io/lf.js"
data-site="lf_YOUR_SITE_KEY"
data-mode="journey"
data-consent="required"></script>// When your consent tool says yes
lf('consent', 'journey');
// When the visitor withdraws it
lf('consent', 'aggregate');Until consent arrives, the script runs in aggregate mode. When a browser sends Global Privacy Control, the script stays in aggregate mode no matter how it's configured.
Let visitors opt out
lf('optout'); // stop sending, and remember this on this device
lf('optin'); // undo itAfter an opt-out, nothing more leaves the page, including events already waiting in the queue. The choice itself is saved in local storage. It's the only thing aggregate mode ever stores in the browser, and only when a visitor asks.
A note on consent law
We list what each mode collects so you and your counsel can decide what notice you need. We can't promise any mode exempts you from a consent requirement: that depends on where you operate and what else your site does.