Remove IP Address Masking

General questions
1

We are setting up a Wiki page using Matomo to monitor and report Intranet usage.

We want to report the number of individual users based on IP address, but these are separate subnets based on site. These subnets do not match any GEOID.

Is there a way to not mask ANY of the IP addresses? These will be internal computers only and not from outside the company.

thanks

2

Addressing the IP Masking Concern

By default, Matomo anonymizes IP addresses to protect user privacy, typically masking portions of the IP address (e.g., masking the last one or two octets). However, since you’re working with an internal network and need precise tracking for your intranet, you can adjust this setting to ensure that IP addresses are not masked.

Steps to Disable IP Masking in Matomo

  1. Access Matomo’s Configuration File:
  • Navigate to the config/config.ini.php file in your Matomo installation directory.
  1. Modify IP Anonymization Settings:
  • To disable IP masking, you can either comment out or adjust the IP anonymization settings. Look for the [General] section and ensure the following line is either removed or set to zero:
[Tracker]
ip_address_mask_length = 0
  • Setting the ip_address_mask_length to 0 means that Matomo will not anonymize any part of the IP address, thus storing the full IP.
  1. Adjust Privacy Settings in the Matomo UI:
  • Alternatively, you can change the settings through the Matomo interface:
    • Go to Administration > Privacy > Anonymize Data.
    • Ensure that the option to anonymize IP addresses is either disabled or set to the least amount of anonymization (i.e., zero octets masked).
  1. Save Changes:
  • Once the changes are made, save the configuration and restart Matomo if necessary to apply the new settings.

Important Considerations

  • Internal Use Only: Since these settings will expose full IP addresses, ensure that this configuration is only used for internal networks and is in compliance with your organization’s privacy policies.
  • Data Segmentation: You can further enhance your reporting by segmenting users based on the subnet (e.g., by using custom dimensions or variables to categorize IP ranges).

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