CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally Plugin

CAOS can be downloaded for free without any paid subscription from the official WordPress repository.

CAOS (Complete Analytics Optimization Suite) for Google Analytics allows you to host gtag.js locally and keep it updated using WordPress’ built-in Cron-schedule. Fully automatic!

Not a big Google Analytics user and just curious about your pageviews? CAOS fully supports Minimal Analytics 4. An extremely lightweight alternative to Google Analytics’ default libraries (gtag.js). Minimal Analytics also helps you get rid of that annoying Unused JS notice in Google PageSpeed Insights!

Whenever you run an analysis of your website on Google Pagespeed Insights, Pingdom or GTMetrix, it’ll tell you to leverage browser cache when you’re using Google Analytics. Because Google has set the cache expiry time to 2 hours. This plugin will get you a higher score on Pagespeed and Pingdom and make your website load faster, because the user’s browser doesn’t have to make a roundtrip to download the file from Google’s external server.

Just install the plugin, enter your Mesurement ID and the plugin adds the necessary Tracking Code for Google Analytics 4 to the header (or footer) of your theme, downloads and saves the gtag.js-file to your website’s server and keeps it updated (automagically) using a scheduled script in wp_cron(). Or if you’d like to use the locally hosted file with another plugin, check Compatibility Mode under Advanced Settings, Either way, CAOS is a set and forget plugin.

For more information: [How to setup CAOS](For more information: How to setup CAOS.

Features

• Host gtag.js for Google Analytics 4 locally,
• Downloaded files are renamed to random strings to avoid ad blockers,
• Minimal Analytics 4 support,
• Compatibility Mode allows you to use the locally hosted file with all Google Analytics plugins, e.g.
  • MonsterInsights (Pro),
  • ExactMetrics
  • Site Kit by Google,
  • WooCommerce Google Analytics Integration,
  • WooCommerce Google Analytics Pro,
  • Analytify,
  • And many more!
• Compatible with all Cookie Notice plugins, e.g.
  • Complianz,
  • CookieYes,
  • WP Cookie Notice,
  • Cookie Notice & Compliance,
  • Cookie Notice & Consent Banner,
  • And many more!
• Preconnect to google-analytics.com to reduce latency and speed up requests,
• Add tracking code to header, footer or manually,
• Save gtag.js anywhere within the WordPress content (wp-content) directory to avoid detection by WordPress security plugins (such as WordFence) or removal by caching plugins (such as WP Super Cache),
• Serve gtag.js from your CDN,
• Set Cookie Expiry Period,
• Force disabling display features functionalities,
• Track logged in Administrators,

Features in CAOS Pro

Use Google Analytics in compliance with GDPR with:
– Randomize Client ID (which grants a fresh, untraceable UUID/ClientID to each visitor),
– Stealth Mode (a unique, customized API, designed for WordPress, which anonymizes your visitor’s data before sending it to Google’s servers).

Other features:
– Cloaked Affiliate Link Tracking,
– Cloudflare Compatibility Mode.

1. Upload the plugin files to the /wp-content/plugins/host-analyticsjs-local directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins repository directly.
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress
3. Use the Settings -> Optimize Google Analytics screen to configure the plugin

For CAOS’ FAQ and Troubleshooting, visit the docs.

4.7.17

• Fixed: Removed CaosGtag_ prefix from Google Analytics 4 cookies.
• Tested with WP 6.6

4.7.16

• Fixed: CAOS would hit Daan.dev updates server on each admin pageload when CAOS Pro was installed.
• Tested with WP 6.5.

4.7.15

• Fixed: This time a proper fix against CSRF attacks. It’s been a long day. Sorry, guys!

4.7.14

• Fixed: undefined array key _wpnonce. (Big Oops! on my end, sorry about that.)

4.7.13 | December 12th, 2023

• Fixed: CSRF issue in custom Update Settings logic.

4.7.12 | November 8th, 2023

• Tested with WP 6.4

4.7.11 | October 19, 2023

• Added: LiteSpeed Cache compatibility.

4.7.10 | September 5th, 2023

• Fixed: users of the premium plugin would still get update notices, saying “Automatic update not available” right after updating to the latest version.

4.7.9 | August 30th, 2023

• Fixed: Allow tracking when cookie has a value (exact match) didn’t work.

4.7.8 | August 24th, 2023

• Fixed: default value of Cache Dir setting should have a trailing slash in all cases.
• Fixed: JS in “Update Failed” message for CAOS Pro failed, due to early execution.
• Fixed: For multisites, COOKIE_DOMAIN constant is now used (if properly defined) to define cookie_domain Gtag config value.

4.7.7

• Tested with WP 6.3
• Improved: PHP 8.1 compatibility.

4.7.6

• Fixed: allow page_view parameter to be rewritten by external plugins (e.g. CAOS Pro).
• Fixed: deprecated notice – version_compare() passing null to param #1 is deprecated in PHP 8.1.

4.7.5 | July 31st, 2023

• Fixed: PHP warning file_get_contents() when no premium plugins are installed.

4.7.4 | July 30th, 2023

• Added: CAOS Pro users are now notified in the All Plugins screen when (automatic) updates are failing.
• Added filter: caos_exclude_from_tracking which allows WP devs to not add the tracking code on certain pages.
• Minor code optimizations.

4.7.3 | July 21st, 2023

• Fixed: remove trailing comma from list to support PHP 7.2 (Props, @artoliukkonen)
• Improved: Don’t echo input from caos_gtag_additional_config filter by default. Devs using this filter need to check their code.
• Fixed: remove duplicate script tags from Consent Mode API script.
• Added filter: caos_local_dir which allows devs to define the absolute path to CAOS’ cache directory.
• Added filter: caos_file_alias which allows devs to define the JS library’s file alias.
• Removed: IP anonymization is no longer required according to Google and no longer supported. Therefore all code related to this feature has been removed.
• Minor all-round code optimizations.

4.7.2 | July 10th, 2023

• Added filter: caos_local_file_url, which can be used to change the alias of the downloaded (gtag.js) library.
• Fixed: the Consent Mode API (for the Allow Tracking When option) wasn’t properly implemented, and was missing the wait_for_update attribute in its defaults.

4.7.1

• Fixed: Minimal Analytics 4 couldn’t be enabled.

4.7.0 | June 30th, 2023

• This release marks the end of Universal Analytics (GA3), all options only supported by UA have been removed.
  • I’ve implemented a database migration script. If you were using Dual Tracking or GA4 before, tracking isn’t interrupted.
    Either way, I suggest you check your settings.
    Read this blogpost for a full rundown of the changes.
• Added: caos_frontend_tracking_promo_message filter.
• Improved: @jahilldev’s Minimal Analytics 4 tracking code is now used, which adds support for event tracking.
• Fixed: Tracking ID, Cookie Name and Cookie Value would get lost in migration when upgrading to 4.6.0 (for those of you who still haven’t updated, you can safely do so now :-))

4.6.1 | June 21st, 2023

• Fixed: Fatal Error (undefined method CAOS::get()) directly after updating.

4.6.0 | June 19th, 2023

• This release marks the deprecation of Universal Analytics (GA3), all options that’ll disappear on July 1st are
  marked as deprecated.
• Tested with WP 6.2 – No issues.
• Improved: DB reads/writes reduced by ~90%!
• Renamed Extensions tab to Avoid Ad Blockers, because all extensions are deprecated (due to incompatibility with GA4 or being replaced with a GA4 native option)

4.5.0 | March 3rd, 2023

• Fixed: filemtime() stat failed for /wp-content/uploads/caos/analytic.js bug
• Removed: change enqueue order option, because it was rendered useless years ago
• Improved: all options are now always displayed and show a clear explanation if they’re disabled due to configuration.
• Added: Increase GDPR Compliance (Pro) promotional option.
• Added: Google Analytics 4’s Consent Mode compatibility to Allow Tracking When-option.

4.4.5 | September 29th, 2022

• Fixed: Bug in Minimal Analytics GA4 when Stealth Mode was enabled.

4.4.4 | September 22nd, 2022

• Fixed: preconnect header shouldn’t be added if Compatibility Mode is on.
• Fixed: rewrite new endpoints for GA4 when Dual Tracking is enabled.
• Fixed: Minify Minimal Analytics code (Damn auto-format!)

4.4.3 | August 3rd, 2022

• Fixed: explicitly check if CAOS::get_current_file_key() exists to prevent “undefined method” uncaught error.

4.4.2 | August 2nd, 2022

• Fixed: prevent warnings when updating downloaded tracking scripts directly after updating the plugin.
• Fixed: show proper file update notice when using Plausible Analytics.
• Fixed: updated signature in Help-tab to Daan.dev logo.

4.4.1 | June 28th, 2022

• Fixed: updated links from ffw.press to daan.dev after the migration.

4.4.0 | June 14th, 2022

• Added: Plausible Analytics support
• Added: Minimal Analytics for Google Analytics V4
• Fixed: A few warnings, bugs and re-worded some descriptions

4.3.5 | June 6th, 2022

• Fixed: Remote JS file should be allowed to be modified, when Compatibility Mode is active.

4.3.4

• Fixed: don’t use WP_Filemanager to get and put file contents.
• Fixed: updated links to new documentation hub.

4.3.3

• Fixed: do not escape slashes when encoding the tracking code’s config section.
• Fixed: Links to documentation updated.
• Fixed: double pageview hits when using GA4.
• UX: When dual tracking is enabled, switch to gtag.js automatically.

4.3.2

• Added: filter caos_gtag_custom_attributes and caos_analytics_custom_attributes to add custom attributes to script tag.
• Fixed: File to Download couldn’t be changed when using Compatibility Mode.
• Fixed: Mute XML errors when loading news reel.

4.3.1

• Fixed (hopefully): CAOS Compatibility Mode would break page caching. Tested with:
  • Autoptimize
  • W3 Total Cache
  • WP Fastest Cache
  • WP Optimize
  • WP Rocket
  • WP Super Cache
• Fixed: Compatibility Mode would break previews of page builders. Tested with:
  • Beaver Builder
  • Divi
  • Elementor
  • Visual Composer
• Fixed: Compatibility Mode would break WordPress’ Customizer preview.

4.3.0

• Added: CAOS is now compatible with all Google Analytics plugins! (I finally figured it out, yay! 🎉)
  That’s why Compatibility Mode is now merely a checkbox.
• Fixed: Minor tweaks.

4.2.6

• Fixed: undefined constant.
• Fixed: Disable Advertising Features didn’t work with analytics.js

4.2.5

• Tested with WP 5.9
  • Fixed: WP 5.9 welcome background was displayed in Help and Extensions section of Settings screen.

4.2.4

• Hotfix: subfolders (e.g. /en/) weren’t properly stripped from the cookieDomain.

4.2.3

• Fix: strip protocol from Home URL to properly set the cookieDomain.
• Enhancement: Added a visual example to the IP Anonymize Mode feature to visualize the different anonymization modes.

4.2.2

• Dev: added filter ‘caos_analytics_use_local_storage’.
• Fix: set cookie domain to Home URL instead of $_SERVER[‘SERVER_NAME’].
• Fix: IPs weren’t properly anonymized when Ad Block Detect and IP Anonymize were enabled.
• Fix: Source mapping URL was invalid in minified stylesheets, which threw a notice in Chrome’s DevTools.
• Fix: Ad Block Detect returned false positives.

4.2.1

• Fix: warning undefined property CAOS_Cron::$plugin_text_domain.
• Fix: warning undefined variable $file.
• Feat: Ability to force clean up and regeneration of file aliases.

4.2.0 | January 14th, 2022

• Feat: Added Dual Tracking to track Google Analytics v3 and Google Analytics v4 simultaneously.
• Del: Removed Stealth Mode Lite since its code was too outdated. To continue using Stealth Mode, upgrade to CAOS Pro. Read more
• Del: Google Optimize was removed and moved to a separate free plugin, to be found here.
• Fix: Removed all references to Super Stealth, since it’s been renamed to CAOS Pro.
• Dev: Debug information is now logged when Track Ad Blockers is enabled.
• Fix: Disable Display Features didn’t work for gtag.js.
• Several bug fixes and optimizations.
• Several design and UX tweaks and enhancements in the settings screen.

4.1.9 | November 27th, 2021

• Sec: prevent path traversal when cache dir is changed (thnx, @jsgm!)

4.1.8 | November 17th, 2021

• Fix: Properly encode XML to prevent parse error in simplexml_load_string().

4.1.7 | November 12th, 2021

• Fix: Updated RSS feed URL, because daan.dev moved to ffw.press/blog
• Fix: Updated documentation links.

4.1.6

• Fix: Adjusted Bounce Rate setting was broken after moving it to the Advanced Tab.

4.1.5 | September 10th, 2021

• Dev: 3rd party plugins can now easily modify CAOS’ admin screen (e.g. adding/saving/modifying settings).
• Enhancement: Minimal Analytics code is now minified.
• Fix: Explicitly enabling Display Features (if not disabled within the settings) should fix missing Demographics reporting.
• Moved Adjusted Bounce Rate setting to Advanced Settings tab.

4.1.4 | August 18th, 2021

• Enhancement: The hit type parameter can now be filtered to allow more flexibility when ad blocker lists are updated. (hint: CAOS Pro)

4.1.3 | July 28th, 2021

• Enhancement: Added news real for CAOS relevant blog posts in footer of CAOS’ settings screen.
• Fix: CAOS Pro promotion material is removed from options that’re free.
• Tested with WP 5.8.

4.1.2 | June 16th, 2021

• Fix: When gtag.js was used, SSL was enabled and your site was behind a load balancer/reverse proxy, CAOS attempted to load analytics.js thru a non-SSL link, which would break Analytics.
• Fix: PNG logo in footer of settings screen would break on Apple machines.

4.1.1 | June 7th, 2021

• Dev: added hooks around tracking code to allows developers to easily alter the tracking code.
• Fix: When Google Analytics and Google Ads are connected, this is now properly handled gtag.js is used.
• Fix: Tracking code can now be properly translated by translating the string UA-123456789.
• Fix: Capture Outbound Links is only triggered on left click (instead of all mousedown events).
• Feature: Cookieless Analytics is now available under Advanced Settings when CAOS Pro is installed and active.
• UX: Re-worded some options and option descriptions.

4.1.0 | June 1st, 2021

• Tracking ID can now be translated with plugins like WPML, so you can set different tracking IDs per language.
• Added compatibility modes for SEOPress and RankMath SEO.

4.0.5 | May 5th, 2021

• Added extra debug points for Stealth Mode users using Analytics plugins (ec.js, linkid.js, etc.)

4.0.4 | April 27th, 2021

• Footer logo in settings screen is now loaded from local src, instead of external src.
• Added extra debug points for Stealth Mode users using Cloudflare.

4.0.3 | April 12th, 2021

• Small performance increase by removing unused code and re-factoring code.
• Google Analytics plugins (e.g. linkid.js, ec.js, etc.) are no longer renamed, because this would cause 404-errors.

4.0.2 | April 6th, 2021

• File alias will now only be generated once, and will not change afterwards.
• Fixed the confirmation notice after saving changes.
• Don’t show file last updated notice if Minimal Analytics is used.
• Fixed some PHP warnings and notices.

4.0.1 | April 2nd, 2021

• Don’t show notice when Minimal Analytics is used.
• Use local path to load JS/CSS assets, instead of URL (what was I thinking?)

4.0.0 | March 29th, 2021

• Added ‘Cookie value contains’ option to Allow Tracking setting, to increase compatibility with plugins like Borlabs Cookie.
• All downloaded files (e.g. analytics.js or gtag.js) are now renamed to random strings, to avoid being blocked by Ad Blockers.
• Fixed some console errors, like when CookieValue is null and when document.body doesn’t exist (yet)
• Update analytics.js/gtag.js is now ran directly after Saving Changes in settings screen.
• GA V4 endpoints are now filterable.
• GA V4 is marked as beta and Gtag V3 is no longer marked as deprecated.
• Added extra debug information to Update Script when Debug Mode is enabled.
• Moved sidebar to separate Help tab leaving more space for settings and descriptions.
• Admin CSS and JS assets are now loaded inline to stop ad blockers from messing with CAOS’ admin functionality.
• Outbound Link Tracking is no longer locked when (Super) Stealth Mode is enabled, because on same (fast) servers it does work in Stealth Mode.
• Code clean-up and overall UX improvements.
• Allround performance improvements and tweaks.

3.7.0 | August 9th, 2020

• My daughter, Emma, is exactly one month old now!
• Track Ad Blockers events are now sent after the Pageview is sent. Fixing the bug for it to create sessions instead of pageviews.
• Added Minimal Analytics support to allow (light-weight) users to get rid of that nasty Unused JS notice in Google PageSpeed Insights.
  • This option can be enabled in Basic Settings > Snippet Type.
• Fixed event category and label for Adjusted Bounce Rate for gtag.js.
• Moved Capture Outbound Links and Adjusted Bounce Rate options to Extensions tab.
• Moved Track Logged In Administrators? and Anonymize IP to Basic Settings tab.
• Added Outbound Link Tracking support for gtag.js.
• Outbound Link Tracking script is now loaded in line, to prevent blocking by Ad Blockers.
• Dropped Stealth Mode support for gtag.js, because it has become unusable after an update of Global Site Tag. Will research the possibility of re-adding it.
  • gtag.js will load analytics.js from google-analytics.com from now on.
• CAOS now uses the same autoloader as OMGF (or other FFWP plugins — if installed) removing overhead and effectively increasing performance.
• Added release dates to the changelog. 🙂

3.0.0

Major code overhaul. Major performance improvements.

2.0.0

Finally rid of the ugly versioning. Added settings link to plugins overview.

1.0

First release! No changes so far!