performance.squarespace.com: Squarespace’s Invasive Visitor Tracking

Squarespace’s tracker, performance.squarespace.com, monitors your interactions on hosted websites, collecting data to profile visitor behavior for site owners. This invades your privacy by logging your activity. Here’s what it does and how to resist.

What Is performance.squarespace.com?

This domain is part of Squarespace’s analytics system, tracking user behavior on sites built with their platform. It logs performance and interaction data, compromising your privacy. As Privacy Auditors, we’re concerned about its impact on visitor anonymity.

Data It Collects

When you visit a Squarespace site, it captures:

• IP Address: Your network location, tied to physical addresses.
• User Behavior: Clicks, navigation, and time spent on pages.
• Geolocation: Lat/long derived from IP for regional analysis.
• Device ID: Unique identifiers for cross-session tracking.
• Session ID: Ties actions during a visit for analytics.
• Browser Type: Chrome or Firefox, with version details.
• Operating System: Windows or macOS, including builds.
• Page URL: Full path of Squarespace pages visited.
• Performance Metrics: Load times and error logs.
• Timestamps: Precise timing of user interactions.

This builds a detailed map of your site interactions.

Who Gets Your Data?

Squarespace shares your information with:

• Squarespace internal system for site analytics.
• Website owner using Squarespace for visitor insights.
• Third-party analytics provider for deeper analysis.
• Government authority upon legal request, per compliance policies.

How to Protect Yourself

As Privacy Auditors, we suggest these steps to block Squarespace tracking:

• Use Tracker Blockers: Tools like Privacy Auditor can disable performance.squarespace.com scripts.
• Mask IP: Use a VPN like Mullvad to hide your location.
• Clear Cookies: Delete site cookies regularly to stop profiling.
• Browse Anonymously: Use browsers like Tor for better privacy.

Combine these for stronger protection.

Sources

• Squarespace Privacy Policy: https://www.squarespace.com/privacy

This is a legal disclaimer. All information is provided for educational purposes only.