How does Google Analytics Real Time work?

Question

I'm wondering how Google Analytics Real Time user interface works, what's the technique ? Do they use long-polling from the client to keep the UI statistics instantly up to date by delivering realtime information from the server to the client? I just open Chrome dev tool on network tab and there is a infinite request on https://www.google.com/analytics/realtime/bind Does anybody know the trick? It works flawless...

Karbala

Answer 1

The below refers to how the real time data is collected, not how the UI updates. (It looks like the UI is just using AJAX polling on the client-side, though)

No special polling or client-side technique is used. Data collection is the same as it always has been.

Instead, Google Analytics will assume that someone who's triggered a pageview in the last 5 minutes is still an "active" visitor.

From e-nor:

These visitors have been active in the last 5 minutes, any one not active for over 5 minutes is dropped.

Grease

I see this question has been accepted but I think the question is actually asking how does the Google Analytics Realtime UI work. Not about data collection. – Carty

Oh, ha, nice close reading. Oops. My post is the correct answer to a different question. Will edit to reflect. – Grease

Answer 2

I was one of two people who built the first version of the Realtime Analytics UI. We used Closure's BrowserChannel.

Washout