The way GA4 recommends filtering internal traffic is highly dependent on IP addresses. Moreover, there is a limit of only 10 filters that can be applied. So unless your entire company staff browse your website only from a single location (that has a set of static IPs) and not exceeding more than 10 locations to stay under the limit, this method fails to filter all traffic generated by your staff.
Therefore, we built a chrome extension that does the work for you. All you have to do is save the URL of your website and turn on the extension.
Below, you can read technical details or jump to FAQs that cover:
Before we dive into how this chrome extension works to filter internal traffic, lets review what happens when a user visits a website. As a user loads your webpage, your GTM or GA4 tracking code executes a “collect” call. Think of a “collect” call as sending data to your GA4 account via a URL. If you like geeking out, you can check this in chrome dev tools by right clicking on the page, and clicking on “Inspect”. Then go to “Network”, and type “collect” in the search box filter. If you do not see any Network calls, just refresh the page. See a snippet from the Hubspot website. The collect URLs that we are interested in will contain google-analytics.com in them as shown. You’ll notice that there can be many collect calls – all sending data to different services as shown in the below screenshot.
Now, to send specific data to GA one modifies these collect calls to add parameters with key and value that you want to pass through. But you need to know the association of a key with a dimension. Every dimension in GA4 has a “key” that identifies it. E.g. “dl” stands for “data location” and sending something with this key will update the “Page Location” dimension in GA.
Alright, this means that internal traffic should have an identifier too. The answer is Yes. And its called “tt” which stands for “traffic_type”. So if we pass a value with this key to our collect call, we’re able to tell GA what that particular traffic_type is.
To categorize traffic as internal, Google Analytics by default set the “traffic_type” as the value to “internal”.
You can check this under Data Filters in your GA4 Admin (also check below screenshot).
Now that we’re done geeking out, we can summarize in 1 sentence what the chrome extension does: It appends the “tt=internal” in GA4 collect calls but for only those websites that you define in your extension settings.
Now that we’re done geeking out, we can summarize in 1 sentence what the chrome extension does: It appends the “tt=internal” in GA4 collect calls but for only those websites that you define in your extension settings.
FAQs – Filter Internal Traffic in GA4 Chrome Extension
1. How to reliably exclude internal traffic from your reports?
The extension enables you to reliably exclude internal traffic from your GA4 reports. Especially when your team works remotely, switches networks, or uses dynamic IPs.
Traditional IP-based filters don’t cut it anymore. They’re clunky to manage and easy to break.
2. How does this extension work?
The extension automatically appends a special parameter (tt=internal) to all GA4 requests made from domains you define in extension settings. No need to mess with IPs or GTM. It just works.
3. Do I need to configure anything in GTM or GA4?
Nope. Just:
- Install the extension
- Add your domains or subdomains
- Turn it on
We even have a 60-second video to walk you through it.
4. Will this work for Single Page Applications (SPAs)?
Yes! We’ve designed it to work seamlessly with SPAs. The parameter gets appended even during dynamic navigation. No reload required.
5. Can I target specific subdomains?
Yes. You can:
- Add a base domain (e.g.
example.com) and choose to apply it globally to all subdomains
- Or leave it unchecked to match only the root domain
- Or add a subdomain (e.g.
staging.example.com) as a standalone rule
6. How hard is it to set up?
It takes less than a minute. No dev time, no scripts, no GTM.
Just open the extension’s settings, add your URLs, and you’re done.
7. Is it free?
Yes. It’s free for everyone. All we ask is that you share your feedback so we can keep improving it.
8. Will it track or store my browsing activity?
Nope. Not even a little bit.
- The extension runs locally in your browser
- It stores your settings locally
- It doesn’t collect, transmit, or share any browsing data
9. Which browsers is it available for?
Currently it’s available for Chrome. If you use a different browser (like Edge or Brave), let us know. We’re considering expanding support based on demand.
10. What do other users think?
Within the first week of launch, we rated 5 star. You can check more updated reviews on Chrome Webstore
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