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20/06/2025
Understanding Sessions in Google Analytics: What You Need to Know

What is a session in Google Analytics?

A session is a collection of user interactions that occur over a specific time period, beginning when a user commences activity on a website or app. A session defaults to timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity, although this can be changed. During a session, a user may perform many page views, events, or other activities. The session terminates either after 30 minutes of inactivity or when the user exits the site or app.

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Google Analytics Users vs. Sessions

A user is defined in Google Analytics as someone who visits your website and starts a session. The “users” metric counts the number of unique visitors to your website, whereas the “sessions” metric tracks how many times those visitors return. A single user can start multiple sessions, but each one is only connected to one user.

How Does Google Analytics Track Sessions?

Google Analytics uses cookies to identify individual users and track user sessions. When a user visits your website, Google Analytics initiates a session, stores a cookie on the user’s device, and gives a session ID. As the user interacts with your website, GA tracks the various hits (page views, clicks, transactions, etc.) and saves them as session data. When a user leaves your site or the session ends, GA saves the final session data.

When Will Google Analytics End a Session?

Google Analytics automatically terminates sessions after 30 minutes of inactivity. If the user returns after this period, a new session will begin. However, if the user returns within 30 minutes, the original session will resume. Unlike the previous version, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has no time limit for the duration of a session.

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