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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryPrivacy & IdentityServer-Side Tracking

Privacy & Identity

Server-Side Tracking

Collecting and sending event data from a server rather than the user's browser.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Short answer

Server-side tracking is collecting and sending event data from a server rather than directly from the user's browser. A website sends events to a server the company controls, which then forwards them to analytics and ad platforms. It gives more control over data quality and sharing, but must still respect consent requirements.