Server-Side Streaming for the Security-Conscious

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the importance of secure, reliable, and efficient data tracking methods has never been more critical. While client-side tracking once dominated the field, server-side streaming is now emerging as the superior choice for businesses that prioritize data accuracy, privacy, and security. This guide explores why server-side streaming is essential for security-conscious organizations and how it can revolutionize your data collection strategies.

The Evolution of Data Tracking

In the late 90s, businesses became aware that they could track their customers’ data with JavaScript tags. The revolution of data tracking began. As the Internet grew, companies could get better insight into their users’ preferences and shopping habits. They can now understand their customers better than ever. They can even figure out when their customers are pregnant—before their own families.

However, as the internet grew, so did concerns about data privacy and security. While client-side tracking remained the norm, its limitations have become increasingly apparent, prompting a significant shift toward server-side streaming.

Client-Side vs. Server-Side Streaming: What’s the Difference?

When someone visits a website or app, their device (the “client”) requests information from a server, which then sends back the web page to be displayed. Data collection can occur at two stages: on the client-side or the server-side.

Client-Side Tracking

Client-side tracking gathers data directly from the user’s device, often using cookies, JavaScript, and other tracking technologies. It exploded in popularity from the beginning, mainly because it’s simple to set up. The user browser or mobile device sends data to the server, which then is passed along to the analytics service.

Some ways to get information on the client-side include:

• UTM parameters: They allow analytic tools to know what channel or ad campaign the client went through to get to their website.
• IP address: IP address allows marketers to know where the user is located geographically.
• Cookies: Allows websites to remember information about users and record their browsing activities.
• User-agent: Tracks the device and browser specifications of the user. Allows marketers to know what kinds of devices users use to access your website.

This method became popular due to its simplicity, but it comes with significant downsides:

• Prone to Interference: Ad-blockers and browser restrictions can block or distort data collection, leading to inaccuracies. For example, cookies can miss up to 12% of conversions, and 35% of cookie-based demographic targeting is inaccurate.
• Privacy Risks: JavaScript vulnerabilities can lead to data breaches, with small businesses facing average costs of $46,000 and enterprises seeing costs as high as $620,000 from such breaches.
• Slower Performance: Running scripts on the user’s device can slow down page load times, negatively impacting the user experience.

Server-Side Tracking

Server-side tracking, also known as cloud delivery, shifts data collection from the user’s device to a server. This method offers several key advantages:

• More Reliable Data: Server-side tracking avoids the issues of client-side methods, ensuring more accurate and complete data by bypassing ad-blockers and browser interruptions.
• Enhanced Security: Sensitive information never leaves the server, significantly reducing the risk of data breaches. This approach also allows for the anonymization and pseudonymization of data, ensuring compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations.
• Improved User Experience: By offloading processing tasks to the server, server-side tracking reduces the load on the user’s device, resulting in faster load times and a smoother browsing experience.

The Benefits of Server-Side Streaming

1. More Reliable Data

Client-side tracking is vulnerable to various issues that can compromise data quality:

• Ad-Blockers: These can prevent critical data from being collected, leaving you with incomplete analytics. For instance, ad-blockers can result in up to 35% of demographic targeting being inaccurate.
• Connection Interruptions: If a user’s connection drops during a transaction, the data might be corrupted or lost, leading to false or incomplete records.

Server-side tracking eliminates these problems by centralizing data collection on the server, ensuring that you receive accurate and complete data. This reliability is crucial for making informed decisions and optimizing your marketing strategies.

2. Enhanced Data Security and Compliance

As data privacy becomes a bigger concern globally, complying with regulations like GDPR and CCPA is essential. Server-side tracking offers robust data compliance solutions to these challenges:

• Data Control: With server-side tracking, you control what data gets collected and how it’s processed, ensuring compliance with data protection laws.
• Anonymization and Pseudonymization: Sensitive data can be anonymized or pseudonymized before being sent to analytics platforms, reducing the risk of privacy violations.
• Geographical Data Handling: Data can be processed and stored within specific regions, ensuring compliance with local data protection laws.

By adhering to these best practices, businesses can safeguard their reputation while maintaining the trust of their customers.

3. Better Control Over Data Collection

Ad-blockers not only interfere with data collection but can also prevent users from seeing important offers, such as discounts or newsletters. Server-side tracking mitigates this issue by ensuring that critical data is collected without interference from third-party tools.

Additionally, server-side tracking provides better control over the data you share with third-party vendors. For example, you can redact sensitive information, such as IP addresses, before it reaches external servers, further enhancing data security.

4. Improved Performance and User Experience

Server-side streaming also significantly reduces client-side load. By moving processing tasks to the server, you can:

• Reduce Browser Load: With fewer scripts running on the user’s device, pages load faster, leading to a better user experience.
• Avoid Browser Restrictions: Server-side scripts are less likely to be blocked by browsers, ensuring consistent data collection and analysis.

This improved performance not only enhances the user experience but also contributes to better conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

Server-Side Streaming for Better Security

While there are many benefits to server-side tracking, security is arguably the most compelling reason to make the switch. In a world where data breaches can cost companies millions, securing customer data is more critical than ever.

1. Avoid the Risks of JavaScript

JavaScript, while powerful, is also vulnerable to exploitation. Hackers can inject malicious scripts into your website, compromising sensitive data. Server-side tracking eliminates this risk by keeping all critical data on the server, away from potential attackers.

2. Ditch the Cookies

Cookies were once essential for online tracking, but they’re becoming obsolete due to increasing privacy concerns. Server-side tracking allows you to bypass the need for cookies altogether while still collecting valuable data on user behavior. This approach not only enhances security but also aligns with evolving privacy regulations.

Practical Strategies for Securing Customer Data

To maximize the security benefits of server-side tracking, consider implementing the following strategies:

• Limit Data Collection: Focus on collecting only the data necessary for business purposes to minimize the risk of exposing sensitive information.
• Encrypt Data: Ensure that all data transmitted between the server and your analytics tools is encrypted to prevent unauthorized access.
• Regular Security Audits: Implement a routine audit schedule to identify and mitigate potential security vulnerabilities.
• Data Minimization and Control: Adhere to data minimization principles by only collecting and processing data necessary for specific purposes, enhancing compliance and security.

Keep Your Data Safe with Server-Side Streaming

Server-side streaming offers a secure, reliable, and future-proof alternative to traditional client-side tracking. By improving data accuracy, enhancing security, and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations, server-side tracking is the ideal choice for businesses that prioritize data protection. As privacy concerns continue to grow, adopting server-side solutions will not only protect your business but also provide a better experience for your customers.

If you’re ready to take the next step in securing your data collection processes, get in touch with us today. We’re here to help you implement server-side streaming solutions tailored to your needs.