Why use Pulse?
TL;DR: Pulse is a lightweight, real‑time, and privacy-first analytics tool with an ultra‑small footprint (4KB standard, 1KB minimal) that collects actionable insights without compromising performance or user privacy.
Speed & Performance
Pulse’s script is only 4KB (or 1KB with minimal script)—nearly 20 times smaller than traditional analytics solutions.
Loading a 4KB file takes <10ms on most connections. Because it’s added with the defer attribute, it downloads in parallel with the page and executes only after HTML parsing, ensuring that critical rendering (FCP and LCP) isn’t delayed.
Privacy‑First & Data Protection
Designed with privacy at its core, Pulse honors the Do Not Track setting and avoids data collection on local or automated environments. It employs one‑way hashing with a daily salt to compute a privacy‑friendly visitor ID, or uses a secure cookie (or localStorage) for identification—all without storing personal data or IP addresses.
Real‑Time Data Collection & Resilience
Pulse captures events in real time using modern web APIs. It primarily utilizes sendBeacon and fetch to transmit data asynchronously, with a minimal fallback to traditional methods if needed. All critical events—from pageviews to interactions—are promptly recorded.
Advanced Engagement & Interaction Tracking
Beyond mere pageviews, Pulse tracks detailed user behavior including scroll depth, active engagement time, and interactions such as outbound link clicks or file downloads. Its support for SPA navigation ensures that dynamic content changes are seamlessly tracked, allowing you to derive nuanced insights into how users interact with your site.
Robust Backend, Smart Session Management & Scalability
Pulse’s backend is powered by Next.js and Supabase, ensuring high scalability and low latency in data processing.
Sessions are intelligently resolved and updated in real time, and every event is validated, sanitized, and stored efficiently, providing a robust framework that scales with your traffic.
Eco‑Friendly Impact
By transmitting only essential data in a tiny payload, Pulse dramatically reduces energy consumption and minimizes CO₂ emissions. In comparison to bulkier analytics platforms, Pulse’s lean design not only delivers faster performance but also contributes to a more sustainable web.
With its sub‑4KB footprint, Pulse minimizes data transfer, reducing energy usage and lowering CO₂ emissions. Every megabyte saved contributes to a greener digital ecosystem.