Remove Google Analytics and Gauges

The Google Analytics property is a Universal Analytics one (UA-), a
kind Google has stopped processing data for. Drop both trackers, the
consent notice and setting, and the hosts from the CSP.

Users who had consented may still carry the vendors' cookies, so the
settings migration now expires them, also for the whole domain, where
Google Analytics usually sets _ga. The retired consent cookies are
expired rather than taken in as settings.

Author: simon04

.gitignore

@@ -13,6 +13,5 @@ docs/**/*
 *.tar.bz2
 *.tar.gz
 *.zip
-assets/stylesheets/components/_environment.scss
 assets/stylesheets/global/_icons.scss
 node_modules

assets/javascripts/app/settings.js

@@ -26,8 +26,6 @@ import { $ } from "../lib/util.js";
  * @property {number} news When the changelog was last read, as a Unix timestamp.
  * @property {StoredFlag} manualUpdate
  * @property {number} schema The offline database's schema version.
- * @property {StoredFlag} analyticsConsent Written as 1 or 0 rather than deleted,
- *   so that consent that was refused is remembered.
  * @property {string} theme `"auto"`, `"dark"` or `"default"`.
  * @property {number} spaceScroll How far space scrolls, as a fraction of the viewport.
  * @property {number | string} spaceTimeout How long after typing space stops
@@ -59,7 +57,6 @@ export class Settings {
     "manualUpdate",
     "fastScroll",
     "arrowScroll",
-    "analyticsConsent",
     "docs",
     "dark", // legacy
     "theme",
@@ -91,7 +88,6 @@ export class Settings {
     news: 0,
     manualUpdate: false,
     schema: 1,
-    analyticsConsent: false,
     theme: "auto",
     spaceScroll: 1,
     spaceTimeout: 0.5,

assets/javascripts/application.js

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 // @ts-check
 
 import { app } from "./app/app.js";
-import "./tracking.js";
 
 /*
  * Copyright 2013-2026 Thibaut Courouble and other contributors

assets/javascripts/globals.d.ts

@@ -44,14 +44,6 @@ declare global {
   type ViewKeyboardEvent = KeyboardEvent & { target: HTMLElement; currentTarget: HTMLElement };
   type ViewInputEvent = Event & { target: HTMLInputElement; currentTarget: HTMLElement };
 
-  // --- Analytics, loaded at runtime by tracking.js ---
-
-  /** Google Analytics, once analytics.js has loaded. */
-  var ga: (...args: unknown[]) => void;
-
-  /** Gauges' command queue. */
-  var _gauges: unknown[] | undefined;
-
   // --- Augmentations ---
 
   interface Window {
@@ -61,18 +53,10 @@ declare global {
     /** Set by vendor/mathml.js once it has probed for MathML support. */
     supportsMathML?: boolean;
 
-    /** Gauges' command queue. */
-    _gauges?: unknown[];
-
     /** debug.js — prints the view tree, with each view's activation state. */
     viewTree?: (view?: unknown, level?: number, visited?: unknown[]) => void;
   }
 
-  interface Navigator {
-    /** Global Privacy Control. Not in lib.dom yet. */
-    readonly globalPrivacyControl?: boolean;
-  }
-
   interface XMLHttpRequest {
     /** Set by lib/ajax.js so that the timeout can be cleared when it settles. */
     timer?: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>;

assets/javascripts/lib/page.js

@@ -1,12 +1,4 @@
-import { app } from "../app/app.js";
-import { config } from "../app/config.js";
-import {
-  SettingsStore,
-  expireCookie,
-  settingsStore,
-} from "./settings_store.js";
 import { $ } from "./util.js";
-import { Notif } from "../views/misc/notif.js";
 
 /*
  * Based on github.com/visionmedia/page.js
@@ -76,7 +68,6 @@ import { Notif } from "../views/misc/notif.js";
  * @property {(context: Context) => string | undefined} dispatch Runs the context through the registered routes, returning a redirect.
  * @property {() => boolean} canGoBack
  * @property {() => boolean} canGoForward
- * @property {(fn: () => void) => void} track Registers an analytics callback, run on every navigation once consent is given.
  */
 
 let running = false;
@@ -145,7 +136,6 @@ page.show = function (path, state) {
   } else {
     context.pushState();
     updateCanonicalLink();
-    track();
   }
   return context;
 };
@@ -166,9 +156,6 @@ page.replace = function (path, state, skipDispatch, init) {
   }
   context.replaceState();
   updateCanonicalLink();
-  if (!skipDispatch) {
-    track();
-  }
   return context;
 };
 
@@ -512,61 +499,3 @@ var updateCanonicalLink = function () {
     `https://${location.host}${location.pathname}`,
   );
 };
-
-/** @type {Array<() => void>} */
-const trackers = [];
-
-/** @param {() => void} fn */
-page.track = function (fn) {
-  trackers.push(fn);
-};
-
-var track = function () {
-  if (config.env !== "production") {
-    return;
-  }
-  if (navigator.doNotTrack === "1") {
-    return;
-  }
-  if (navigator.globalPrivacyControl) {
-    return;
-  }
-
-  const consentGiven = settingsStore.get("analyticsConsent");
-
-  if (consentGiven === 1) {
-    for (var tracker of trackers) {
-      tracker.call(undefined);
-    }
-  } else if (consentGiven === undefined && !consentAsked()) {
-    new Notif("AnalyticsConsent", { autoHide: null });
-  }
-};
-
-/**
- * @returns {boolean} Whether the user has been asked for consent already, and
- *   marks them as asked if not. Kept in sessionStorage, so the question comes
- *   back on the next visit but not on the next page load.
- */
-var consentAsked = function () {
-  try {
-    if (sessionStorage.getItem(SettingsStore.ASKED_KEY)) {
-      return true;
-    }
-    sessionStorage.setItem(SettingsStore.ASKED_KEY, "1");
-  } catch (error) {}
-  return false;
-};
-
-/**
- * Expires the analytics cookies, which are the ones the vendors set with a
- * single leading `_`. The app has none of its own.
- */
-export const resetAnalytics = function () {
-  for (var cookie of document.cookie.split(/;\s?/)) {
-    var name = cookie.split("=")[0];
-    if (name[0] === "_" && name[1] !== "_") {
-      expireCookie(name);
-    }
-  }
-};

assets/javascripts/lib/settings_store.js

@@ -26,10 +26,10 @@ export class SettingsStore {
   static KEY = "settings";
 
   /**
-   * The sessionStorage key the once-a-session analytics prompt is tracked by.
-   * Not a setting: it was a session cookie, and is meant to last a visit.
+   * Cookies of an earlier version that aren't settings any more: the consent
+   * to analytics, and the session-only flag the consent prompt was tracked by.
    */
-  static ASKED_KEY = "analyticsConsentAsked";
+  static RETIRED_KEYS = ["analyticsConsent", "analyticsConsentAsked"];
 
   /**
    * Hook called when a value read back after a write doesn't match what was
@@ -89,12 +89,9 @@ export class SettingsStore {
     this.storage.set(SettingsStore.KEY, settings);
   }
 
-  /** Clears every setting, and the flags that outlive them. */
+  /** Clears every setting. */
   reset() {
     this.storage.del(SettingsStore.KEY);
-    try {
-      sessionStorage.removeItem(SettingsStore.ASKED_KEY);
-    } catch (error) {}
   }
 
   /**
@@ -113,9 +110,10 @@ export class SettingsStore {
    * expires them. Does nothing once they are gone.
    *
    * What is already stored wins, being the newer of the two. Cookies with a
-   * single leading underscore belong to the analytics vendors, not to us.
-   * Nothing is expired unless the write lands, or a browser that won't take
-   * the settings would be left with no copy of them at all.
+   * single leading underscore were set by the analytics vendors the app used
+   * to load; nothing looks after them any more, so they are expired outright.
+   * Nothing else is expired unless the write lands, or a browser that won't
+   * take the settings would be left with no copy of them at all.
    *
    * Remove once the app has had a release or two to empty the jar out.
    */
@@ -133,19 +131,16 @@ export class SettingsStore {
     const names = [];
 
     for (var cookie of document.cookie.split(/;\s?/)) {
-      if (cookie[0] === "_") {
+      const [name, value] = cookie.split("=");
+      if (name[0] === "_") {
+        if (name[1] !== "_") {
+          expireCookie(name);
+        }
         continue;
       }
-      const [name, value] = cookie.split("=");
       const key = decode(name);
 
-      if (key === SettingsStore.ASKED_KEY) {
-        // It was a session cookie, and is sessionStorage now. Carried over, or
-        // the prompt would come back on the visit that upgrades.
-        try {
-          sessionStorage.setItem(key, "1");
-        } catch (error) {}
-      } else if (!(key in settings)) {
+      if (!SettingsStore.RETIRED_KEYS.includes(key) && !(key in settings)) {
         settings[key] = decode(value || "");
       }
       names.push(name);
@@ -166,12 +161,15 @@ export class SettingsStore {
 }
 
 /**
- * Expires a cookie, whoever set it.
+ * Expires a cookie, whoever set it: once as the app sets them, and once for
+ * the whole domain, which is where Google Analytics put its own.
  *
  * @param {string} name
  */
-export const expireCookie = (name) => {
-  document.cookie = `${name}=;path=/;expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT`;
+const expireCookie = (name) => {
+  const expires = "expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT";
+  document.cookie = `${name}=;path=/;${expires}`;
+  document.cookie = `${name}=;path=/;domain=${location.hostname};${expires}`;
 };
 
 /**

assets/javascripts/templates/notif_tmpl.js

@@ -130,11 +130,3 @@ export const notifUpdateDocs = () =>
     " Documentation updates available. ",
     ' <a href="/offline">Install them</a> as soon as possible to avoid broken pages. ',
   );
-
-export const notifAnalyticsConsent = () =>
-  textNotif(
-    " Tracking cookies ",
-    ` We would like to gather usage data about how DevDocs is used through Google Analytics and Gauges. We only collect anonymous traffic information.
-Please confirm if you accept our tracking cookies. You can always change your decision in the settings.
-<br><span class="_notif-right"><a href="#" data-behavior="accept-analytics">Accept</a> or <a href="#" data-behavior="decline-analytics">Decline</a></span> `,
-  );

assets/javascripts/templates/pages/about_tmpl.js

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ export const aboutPage = function () {
 
 <p><strong>Special thanks to:</strong>
 <ul>
-  <li><a href="https://sentry.io/">Sentry</a> and <a href="https://get.gaug.es/?utm_source=devdocs&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=sponsorships" title="Real Time Web Analytics">Gauges</a> for offering a free account to DevDocs
+  <li><a href="https://sentry.io/">Sentry</a> for offering a free account to DevDocs
   <li><a href="https://out.devdocs.io/s/maxcdn">MaxCDN</a>, <a href="https://out.devdocs.io/s/shopify">Shopify</a>, <a href="https://out.devdocs.io/s/jetbrains">JetBrains</a> and <a href="https://out.devdocs.io/s/code-school">Code School</a> for sponsoring DevDocs in the past
   <li><a href="https://www.heroku.com">Heroku</a> and <a href="https://newrelic.com/">New Relic</a> for providing awesome free service
   <li><a href="https://www.jeremykratz.com/">Jeremy Kratz</a> for the C/C++ logo
@@ -89,7 +89,6 @@ export const aboutPage = function () {
 <ul>
   <li><a href="https://devdocs.io">devdocs.io</a> ("App") is operated by <a href="https://www.freecodecamp.org/">freeCodeCamp</a> ("We").
   <li>We do not collect personal information through the app.
-  <li>We use Google Analytics and Gauges to collect anonymous traffic information if you have given consent to this. You can change your decision in the <a href="/settings">settings</a>.
   <li>We use Sentry to collect crash data and improve the app.
   <li>The app uses local storage to store user preferences.
   <li>By using the app, you signify your acceptance of this policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use the app.

assets/javascripts/templates/pages/settings_tmpl.js

@@ -79,12 +79,6 @@ export const settingsPage = (settings) => `\
       }>Automatically switch to the latest version of a documentation
       <small>With this checked, enabling e.g. CMake 3.9 switches to CMake 3.10 once it becomes available.</small>
     </label>
-    <label class="_settings-label _hide-in-development">
-      <input type="checkbox" form="settings" name="analyticsConsent"${
-        settings.analyticsConsent ? " checked" : ""
-      }>Enable tracking cookies
-      <small>With this checked, we enable Google Analytics and Gauges to collect anonymous traffic information.</small>
-    </label>
     <label class="_settings-label _hide-on-mobile">
       <input type="checkbox" form="settings" name="noDocSpecificIcon"${
         settings.noDocSpecificIcon ? " checked" : ""