explainers
Google Consent Mode is how a cookie banner tells Google’s tags what the visitor agreed to. The site sets defaults when the page loads, usually “denied”, …
trackers
Google Tag Manager is a loader. The site puts one snippet on every page, the snippet fetches a container from www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-..., and the …
use cases
Say a company’s general counsel gets a letter claiming its website shared visitors’ data with an ad network without consent. The first question is simple and …
testing
A tool that says “this tag fired before consent” has to be right, or its reports are worse than nothing. So PXTA’s tests run real Chrome against real …
explainers
A site’s own search box is where visitors type what they actually want. On a pharmacy it’s a medicine. On a lender it’s “bankruptcy”. On a …
the name
PXTA is short for Pixel Tracking Audit. Take the P and the X from pixel, the T from tracking, the A from audit. Say it letter by letter, or “pix-ta” if you …
releases
The first PXTA release, version 0.1, is out. It’s a free, open-source command that loads a website in a real browser and writes down what every tracking pixel …
explainers
The quickest way to see which trackers a site uses is to read its HTML and look for known scripts. Plenty of free tools do just that. It finds the Meta Pixel in the page …
explainers
PXTA watches what leaves the browser. That covers most tracking on most websites, and it’s where the consent questions are sharpest, because it’s the …
use cases
Most of PXTA’s sample reports show things going wrong, because that’s where the findings are. This one shows the target. Tidewater Bakery, a made-up bakery …