[GDPR issue / feature update request] New disableCampaignParameters() function doesn't work as intended

[SW-Vincent]

disableCampaignParameters() function removes UTMs from the URL within Matomo tracking request. This means the issue is double :

• it (consent) cannot change during the visit
• visits with / without consent cannot be differentiated.

Summary

Using this feature as it is now will blend Paid and Organic trafic sources without any way to tell them apart, which is a big issue for most of my customers. The best case scenario would be :

• to count UTM visits within campaign source, weither consent has been given or not; with a dummy campaign name, media and source ;
• to treat consent as a visit-level dimension, which means it is stored within a cookie and the last value of the cookie within the visit will count for the whole visit (therefore if i consent after the pageview hit, UTM will still be tracked) ;

An other decent scenario would be to still flood Organic data with paid data but give a dedicated visit-level dimension to tell them apart. There is no workaround with custom dimensions as it is now, because a visit-level custom dimension only considers its last value of the visit, while Matomo only handles UTM as the first pageview of the visit. If this is not acceptable in regards to GDPR, then Piano Analytics is in trouble because it has been a feature for some times (called hybrid consent).

Why are the above elements required ? Matomo pageview is expected to be sent before consent is given, as its main purpose in France is to be part of CNIL consent exemptions (which requires some of Matomo functions, such as e-commerce, Heatmaps and UTMs to be disabled or to require consent). Therefore, any element that requires consent -such as UTMs- needs to be able to change during the visit (this can be done for heatmaps and session recordings, but this is a special case). Delaying pageview until consent is given doesn't look like an acceptable workaround (plus it wouldn't solve tge "telling paid and organic apart" issue).

Your Environment

• Matomo Version: Mostly Cloud
• PHP Version:
• Server Operating System:
• Additionally installed plugins: