Google Analytics 4 has replaced Universal Analytics

Last updated: February 26, 2024

Google Analytics 4 is our next-generation measurement solution, and it has replaced Universal Analytics. Starting on July 1, 2023, standard Universal Analytics properties stopped processing new data, and all customers will lose access to the Universal Analytics interface and API starting on July 1, 2024. To maintain your website measurement, you'll need a Google Analytics 4 property. If you haven't already, make the switch to Google Analytics 4.

Understand the migration timeline

What happened so far

  • Starting March 2023: If you didn't manually migrate your active standard Universal Analytics property to a new Google Analytics 4 property and didn't opt out of an automatic property creation, we created a Google Analytics 4 property on your behalf. Automatically created Google Analytics 4 properties reuse existing site tags whenever possible. Learn more
  • Starting July 1, 2023: Standard Universal Analytics properties stopped processing hits, including standard properties in accounts that also contain 360 properties. Some properties continued to process data for a short period after this as we staged the shutdown of Universal Analytics. You'll be able to access your previously processed data in your Universal Analytics property until July 1, 2024.
    If you have a current Universal Analytics 360 contract, your timeline is different. See For Google Analytics 360 customers, below.

What happens next

Starting the week of July 1, 2024: You won't be able to access any Universal Analytics properties or the API (not even with read-only access), and all data will be deleted. While the standard sunset took weeks to complete, the full Universal Analytics shutdown will happen within a week. We know your data is important to you, and we recommend that you export your previously processed data before this date.

For Google Analytics 360 customers

Universal Analytics 360 properties with a current 360 order (Google Analytics 4 or Universal Analytics) received a one-time processing extension ending on July 1, 2024. 360 Universal Analytics properties without a current 360 order (Google Analytics 4 or Universal Analytics) were subject to downgrade to standard Universal Analytics properties, did not receive the extension, and stopped processing data starting on July 1, 2023.
  • Starting January 1, 2024: As previously announced, migration to Google Analytics 4 is necessary in part due to a constantly changing technology and regulatory ecosystem. As we shift resources to focus on building Google Analytics 4, so that it satisfies those technological and regulatory demands, we can't guarantee that all features and functionalities in Universal Analytics 360 continue to work as expected.
  • January 29, 2024: The following Universal Analytics features will be deprecated as we shift resources to focus on Google Analytics 4. To find the corresponding advertising and measurement features in Google Analytics 4, consult the feature comparison table on this page.
    • Advertising features:
      • Realtime reports
    • Measurement features:
      • Lifetime Value report
      • Model Explorer
      • Cohort Analysis
      • iTunes Conversion Tracking
      • Conversion Probability report
      • GDN Impression Beta
  • Early March, 2024: The following Universal Analytics features will be deprecated as we shift resources to focus on Google Analytics 4. Google Analytics 4 was designed to be able to evolve for the future and built with privacy at its core. To find the corresponding advertising and measurement features in Google Analytics 4, consult the feature comparison table on this page.
    • Advertising features:
      • Deprecated for traffic in the European Economic Area (EEA): these features will continue to be available for traffic outside of the EEA.
        • Remarketing, conversion export and bidding optimization
        • Daily BigQuery Export of data provided by linked Google advertising products: Google Ads, Search Ads 360, Display Video 360, Campaign Manager 360, Google AdSense, and Google Ad Manager
        • Drop of ad-click identifiers such as GCLID and DCLID can impact the attribution of credit of conversions to ad clicks from Google Ads, Publisher, and GMP Media integrations. There may be an increase in direct/none or google/organic traffic unless UTM parameters are present in the URL.
      • Deprecated for all traffic: these features will no longer be supported inside or outside the EEA.
        • Demographic and Interest reports
        • Publisher reporting
        • Phone Analytics
        • Event and Salesforce Data Import
        • Realtime BigQuery Export
    • Measurement features:
      • Deprecated for all traffic: these features will no longer be supported inside or outside the EEA.
        • Universal Analytics property creation
        • App Views in Universal Analytics that receive data via the UA SDK or Measurement Protocol.
        • Unsampled reports. All queries above 1 million sessions will now be subject to sampling.
        • Custom Tables
        • Annotations
  • March 2024: We recommend that Universal Analytics 360 users switch to Google Analytics 4 and complete historical data export no later than March 2024. This will support a smooth transition to GA4 and allow users to have three months to validate data and settings. By March, you should:
  • Starting the week of July 1, 2024: You won't be able to access any Universal Analytics properties or the API (not even with read-only access), and all data will be deleted. While the standard sunset took weeks to complete, the full Universal Analytics shutdown will happen within a week. We know your data is important to you, and we recommend that you export your previously processed data before this date.

Deprecated Universal Analytics features and corresponding Google Analytics 4 features

The following two tables detail the Universal Analytics features to be deprecated on January 29, 2024 and in early March, 2024.

Deprecated on January 29, 2024

Consult the following table to find the corresponding GA4 features for your use cases for UA features deprecated on January 29, 2024:

Use case Traffic location Deprecated UA feature Corresponding GA4 feature
Advertising features All traffic inside and outside the EEA Realtime reports GA4 Realtime report
Measurement features All traffic inside and outside the EEA Lifetime Value report GA4 User lifetime exploration
Model Explorer
Cohort Analysis GA4 Cohort exploration
iTunes Conversion Tracking GA4 App conversion tracking
Conversion Probability report GA4 Predictive metrics
GDN Impression Beta Attribution reporting
Deprecated in early March, 2024

Consult the following table to find the corresponding GA4 features for your use cases for UA features deprecated in early March, 2024:

Use case Traffic location Deprecated UA feature Corresponding GA4 feature
Advertising features Traffic in the European Economic Area (EEA)
Daily BigQuery Export of data provided by linked Google advertising products GA4 BigQuery Export schema
All traffic inside and outside the EEA Demographics and Interest reports GA4 Demographic details report
Publisher reporting Google Ad Manager data in GA4
Phone Analytics GA4 Measurement Protocol
Event and Salesforce Data Import GA4 Data Import
Realtime BigQuery Export GA4 BigQuery Export
Measurement features All traffic inside and outside the EEA Create a Universal Analytics property Create a Google Analytics 4 property
App SDK GA4 SDK
Unsampled reports GA4 Unsampled explorations
Custom Tables GA4 Custom reports
Annotations Future enhancement

Tips and resources for 360 customers

Frequently asked questions

Expand all Collapse all When will my Universal Analytics property go away?

All users, including those accessing 360 properties, will lose access to the Universal Analytics user interface and API starting on July 1, 2024.

How can I export data from my Universal Analytics property?

There are several ways to export data from your Universal Analytics property:

Unless your Universal Analytics property is linked to your Google Ads account, your Google Ads account will be unaffected. However, if your Universal Analytics property and Google Ads account is linked, Universal Analytics data stopped flowing to Google Ads beginning on July 1, 2023. (July 1, 2024 for Analytics 360 properties.) This could affect your Google Ads campaigns if you're:

  • bidding on imported Universal Analytics goals or ecommerce transactions
  • using a Universal Analytics audience in your campaigns or ad groups
  • importing Universal Analytics site metrics

We suggest you migrate your Universal Analytics property's Google Ads links to your Google Analytics 4 property. Next, if applicable, you should import Google Analytics 4 conversions (for bidding) and/or add Google Analytics 4 audiences to a campaign or ad group (for remarketing).

Visit the Google Ads help center for more information:

Can I delete my Universal Analytics property?

Yes. However, deleting your Universal Analytics property is not recommended. If you reused your Universal Analytics tagging to send data to your GA4 property, deleting the Universal Analytics property may stop data flow to your GA4 property, and you’ll need to set up a new Google tag. Learn more about the Google tag

Proceed with deletion only if you’re certain you no longer need data to flow to your GA4 property or other configured destinations.

Can I still move my Universal Analytics property from one account to another?
Yes, until July 1, 2024, you can move your Universal Analytics or 360 properties from one account to another account. Learn more about moving a property

Was this helpful?

How can we improve it?
Search
Clear search
Close search
Google apps
Main menu
5277526392217614411
true
Search Help Center
true
true
true
true
true
69256
false
false