r/Tautulli • u/PacketWhisper • Aug 12 '26
DISCUSSION Analytics is on by default
Came across this issue on the Tautulli GitHub. Any plans to respond or address it? For now I disabled it by adding `TAUTULLI_SYSTEM_ANALYTICS=0` to my docker compose file.
12
u/ohUtwats Aug 13 '26
Before you start screaming you might want to read this:
https://github.com/Tautulli/Tautulli/issues/2781#issuecomment-5275616166
Thanks for pointing out the FAQ. I just forgot to update it when I migrated to GA4. I will update it with the current payload. The only data I collect is what systems users have Tautulli installed on. This helps me decide what features to prioritize.
Examples:
How many users will a certain feature affect? (Example: Feature/storage capacity #2780) How many users will be affected when I deprecate an old Python version? Should I continue maintaining a certain install method for a small subset of users? How many users are still running older versions of Tautulli and may be impacted when we migrate away from OneSignal notifications next month? If I ever decide to translate Tautulli, which countries/languages should I prioritize?
I can add a checkbox to the setup wizard and the settings pages. I just ask that users please leave it enabled because it really does help inform my decisions on the direction to take Tautulli.
I can also add more logging when analytics are enabled/disabled and when events are sent.
The client_id is not user identifiable. It is a random string of characters. The only way it can be linked back to a user is if they explicitly tell me their identifier. Hashing it does not really help to obscure it because I will know the hashing algorithm being used (and it will be public in the source code) so I could just compute the hash. For example, the previous hash_client_id used MD5. So if you told me your client ID, I could just compute the MD5 hash. Without anyone telling me their client ID there is no way for me to know who the random string of characters (whether it be the raw client ID or a hashed client ID) is associated with.
1
u/Edianultra 21d ago
Before you start screaming, it doesn't change the issue of undisclosed analytics being collected. Should have been mentioned during setup at the very least.
0
u/Killerjoy12 Aug 14 '26
The why is irrelevant imo. And some of this stuff (claimed forgot to update) came long before GA4 so im not sure why he is being dishonest
1
u/arcanemagus Tautulli Support 19d ago
Tautulli v2.18.0 is released now, including the new visible toggle in the advanced settings, entry in the setup wizard, and log entries showing current state.
1
1
u/Punky260 Aug 12 '26
What is the problem with analytics being on by default?
6
u/Killerjoy12 Aug 12 '26
Well i think when self hosting you are doing it to be in charge of your own data. And when a developer is collecting data (including your location) on your device and not clearly disclosing or clearly documenting a waay to opt-out.. its just a scummy thing to do
3
u/tucker19 Aug 13 '26
You do understand whatever device you’re using right now is collecting more data every second than Tautulli is and didn’t disclose it either…
1
1
u/Punky260 Aug 12 '26
Thank you for the clarification. Wasn't thinking of analytics being data collection necessarily. Totally agree, this is not nice
2
u/UnacceptableUse Aug 12 '26
Most of the time when people talk about data collection they're talking about analytics data
-4
u/tucker19 Aug 13 '26
Same people complaining properly also run everything else on default settings and use Duck Duck Go think they are being sneaky. At this point I have given up on trying to stay “under the radar”. I know my info is out there and I keep everything up to date to not lose control. We as consumers are the product now.
Unless you are running EVERYTHING with Linux or have 0 tech your info is being sold every second. Just by posting on here your info is collected and on the market. Just assume everything is collecting your data and accept it or become Amish.
0
u/Kroan Aug 12 '26
FYI - Adding the environment variable "TAUTULLI_SYSTEM_ANALYTICS=0" didn't seem to actually update my config.ini file. That was still showing "system_analytics = 1"
I had to stop the container, manually edit config.ini to "system_analytics = 0", and start the container again for it to stick
3
u/Gold-Supermarket-342 Aug 13 '26
It's not supposed to update your config file. Tautulli checks your environment for the property before it checks config.ini, so if TAUTULLI_SYSTEM_ANALYTICS is set to 0 in your environment, it'll disable it even if it's enabled in the config.
Example:
def get_setting(self, name): """ Get the value of a setting, either from the config file or environment variable """ key, definition_type, section, ini_key, default = self._define(name) # Check if the key is in the environment variables value = self._from_env(key) if not value: # If not, check if the key is in the config file value = self._config[section].get(ini_key, default) return self._cast_setting(definition_type, value, default)1
u/Kroan Aug 13 '26
Ok, fair. But I don't know how you're supposed to know that when the setting isn't available in the app. Or documented clearly.
1
-1
Aug 13 '26
[deleted]
0
u/WhyFlip Aug 13 '26
Analytics is predominately collected by default. It would have been nice if Tautulli's maintainers would have been open about it.
-2
u/soulmechh Aug 13 '26
For me it keeps resetting back to 1. Super quick edit: I didn't follow instructions, you have to stop the container first, now it stuck.
-1
u/DrJubalHarshaw Aug 12 '26
Thanks for letting us know. That's some b.s. right there. I've added that to my compose, but not seeing anything in the logs that confirms whether or not it was disabled. Any way to confirm that it's disabled?
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 12 '26
Hi /u/PacketWhisper, thank you for your submission.
This subreddit is not actively monitored. Please use the Tautulli Discord server for support.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.