Glossary

Plain definitions of the terms that come up around cookieless and self-hosted product analytics.

Cohort retention

Group people by when they started, then measure what share came back in each later period. It needs an identity that lasts, so usually a login.

Conversion funnel

An ordered series of steps, and how many people reached each one. It needs the same identity across the steps, for as long as the funnel lasts.

Cookieless tracking

Measuring visits without setting a cookie, usually with a short-lived hash computed on the server. It doesn’t by itself mean no consent is needed.

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

An open standard for connecting AI applications to external systems. An analytics tool with an MCP server lets an assistant read its figures.

Salted visitor hash

An identifier computed on the server from a visitor’s address and browser, plus a value that changes, so that it expires by itself. Pseudonymous, not anonymous.

Self-hosted analytics

Analytics you run on your own infrastructure, so the data stays in your database. You also take on upgrades, backups and legal questions.