How Fold works/Integrations/Google Analytics 4

Web AnalyticsLive integration

Google Analytics 4

Website traffic, sessions, sources and conversions — read-only.

OAuth 2.0 — no password sharedRead-only — we never write to your accountGDPR compliant

Your password is never shared

We never sell your data

Disconnect = data deleted instantly

Why founders connect Google Analytics 4

GA4's own interface is powerful but slow to navigate for a quick daily check. Fold gives you the numbers that matter — sessions, new users, conversions — in a single row alongside your revenue and email metrics, making it obvious whether a traffic spike actually converted.

How your data flows

From Google Analytics 4 to your Fold dashboard

This is the exact sequence every time Fold runs its daily sync. Nothing runs outside this pipeline.

Google Analytics 4 API

OAuth 2.0 token

You authorise Fold once via Google Analytics 4's own OAuth page. Fold receives a scoped, time-limited token — your login credentials are never seen or stored.

Read-only API requests

7 HTTP GET calls per sync

Fold makes 7 read-only requests to Google Analytics 4's API — the exact endpoints are documented in the section below. No write requests are ever made.

Filter & aggregate

Personal data stripped before storage

The raw API response is processed in memory. Only aggregate numbers (totals, counts, rates) are extracted. Any field containing personal information — names, emails, IDs — is discarded and never written to disk.

Stored in your account

AES-256 at rest · row-level isolation

The filtered snapshot is written to your isolated tenant in our database, encrypted at rest. Row-level security ensures no other Fold user can read your data — not even via a misconfigured query.

Shown in your dashboard

Overview · Analytics · AI Digest

The stored aggregate numbers surface across your Fold dashboard — the Overview tile, Analytics tab charts, and the AI-generated daily digest. No raw data from the API is ever returned to the frontend.

Step 1 — How you connect

The exact connection flow

Here is precisely what happens when you connect Google Analytics 4 to Fold, step by step.

1Click "Connect Google Analytics" in your Fold Settings tab.
2You're redirected to Google's own OAuth consent screen (accounts.google.com).
3You select your Google account and review the exact permissions Fold is requesting.
4You click "Allow". Google issues a scoped access token to Fold.
5Fold asks you to choose which GA4 property to sync (if you have multiple).
6Initial sync runs and data appears in your dashboard.

Step 2 — Permissions we request

Exactly what access Fold asks for

We request the minimum permissions needed. No more.

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/analytics.readonly — read-only access to your GA4 reporting data.
No write scopes. Fold cannot create events, modify goals or alter your GA4 configuration.

Step 3 — API calls Fold makes

Every request we send to Google Analytics 4

These are the exact API endpoints Fold calls during each sync, and why.

GA4 Data API — runReport (sessions/users)

Fetch daily session and user counts for traffic KPI tile.

GA4 Data API — runReport (traffic sources)

Break down traffic by channel: organic, paid, social, email, direct, referral.

GA4 Data API — runReport (bounce rate / engagement)

Engagement rate and average session duration for quality metrics.

GA4 Data API — runReport (top pages)

Top 10 pages by sessions and engagement time.

GA4 Data API — runReport (conversions)

Goal completion counts for conversion rate metric.

GA4 Data API — runReport (device category)

Desktop vs mobile vs tablet breakdown.

GA4 Data API — runReport (geo/country)

Top countries by sessions for audience geography widget.

API impact: Fold makes 7 GA4 Data API requests per sync using batch report calls. Well within Google's default quota of 10,000 requests per day per property.

What we store

Exactly what lands in our database

Every field we persist — with a real example and the reason it exists. Nothing more is stored.

Field	Example value	Why we store it
Total sessions (current period)	8,420 sessions	Traffic KPI tile and trend chart.
Total users	5,130 users	Audience size metric.
New users count	3,240 new users	Growth indicator.
Bounce rate / engagement rate	42% engagement rate	Traffic quality metric.
Sessions by traffic source	Organic: 3,200 / Paid: 1,100	Channel attribution breakdown chart.
Top 10 pages by sessions	/pricing: 940 sessions	Content performance widget.
Conversion event counts	sign_up: 87 conversions	Conversion rate KPI.
Device category split	Desktop: 62%, Mobile: 35%	Device breakdown chart.

What a daily sync actually stores

One day's record — verbatim

This is a real-looking example of the row Fold writes to your account after a single sync. Every field, every value — nothing hidden.

google_analytics_4_daily_snapshot

{

"date": "2025-04-23",

"sessions": "8420",

"total_users": "5130",

"new_users": "3240",

"bounce_rate": "0.42",

"avg_session_duration": "134",

}

No customer names. No emails. No transaction IDs. Just numbers.

What we never store

Data Fold never touches

These fields are explicitly excluded. Even if the Google Analytics 4 API returns them, Fold ignores and discards them before any storage step.

Individual user IDs, client IDs or user pseudonyms
IP addresses
Page paths with personally identifiable information (e.g. /account/user@email.com)
Raw event parameters or custom dimensions containing PII
User-level session logs
Your GA4 measurement ID or any configuration secrets

What Fold never does

Hard limits — enforced at the API level

These aren't just policies — they're technically impossible given the permissions we request. Google Analytics 4's own API enforces them.

Create, edit or delete GA4 events or conversions
Modify your GA4 property configuration or data streams
Access Google Search Console, Google Ads or any other Google product
Share your traffic data with any third party
Use your analytics data to train AI models

Privacy note — Google Analytics 4 specific

Fold uses the Google Analytics Data API v1 with analytics.readonly scope. We only retrieve aggregated report data — the same numbers you see in your GA4 dashboard. No user-level data, no raw event streams.

Data retention

How long we keep it

Synced metrics are retained while your Fold account is active. Disconnecting GA4 or closing your account purges all GA4-sourced data within 24 hours.

Refresh frequency

How often we sync

Automatic sync every 24 hours. Manual refresh available anytime from the Settings tab.

How to revoke access

You are always in control

You can disconnect Google Analytics 4 from Fold at any time — from either side. Both options immediately stop all data access.

From Fold

Settings → Google Analytics 4 → Disconnect. All synced GA4 data is deleted immediately.

From Google Analytics 4 directly

Go to your Google Account → Security → Third-party apps with account access → Fold Analytics → Remove access.

Open Google Analytics 4 settings

Security standards

How your credentials are protected

AES-256 encryption at rest

Your OAuth access token is encrypted with AES-256 before being written to our database. It is never stored in plaintext.

TLS 1.3 in transit

All API calls from Fold to Google Analytics 4 use TLS 1.3. Your credentials cannot be intercepted in transit.

Read-only enforcement

Google Analytics 4's own API enforces the read-only permissions server-side. Even if Fold's code had a bug, the platform would reject any write request.

Row-level security

Your synced data is isolated in our database with row-level security. No other Fold user can query your data.

FAQ

Questions about the Google Analytics 4 integration

Can Fold see who my individual website visitors are?

No. We use the GA4 Reporting API which returns aggregated metrics only — totals, averages and percentages. We never access user-level data or session-level logs.

Does Fold access my Google Ads account?

No. The analytics.readonly scope is strictly limited to GA4 reporting data. Google Ads is a completely separate product with separate OAuth scopes that Fold does not request.

Will Fold affect my GA4 data or sampling?

No. Read-only API calls have no impact on your GA4 data or its accuracy. Fold uses unsampled data requests where possible, but very large GA4 properties may return sampled data — consistent with what GA4's own interface shows.

I have multiple GA4 properties. Which one does Fold use?

After connecting, Fold will ask you to select the specific GA4 property you want to sync. You can change this selection from the Settings tab at any time.

Other live integrations