Universal Analytics, the previous version of Google Analytics, stopped recording data on July 1, 2023. Starting July 1, 2024, Google also shut down the interface and the API, and old data became inaccessible to anyone who hadn’t exported it beforehand. Today the only version is GA4. If your site still has a code that starts with UA-, it isn’t sending data anywhere and can be removed.
Searches for “Google Analytics UA” grew a lot over the past year in Brazil, according to Google’s Keyword Planner, mostly from people who opened an old report and found nothing there anymore. This article explains what happened and what to do now.
What changed from Universal Analytics to GA4
| Universal Analytics | GA4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic unit | Session and pageview | Event |
| Goals | Goals (destination, duration, event) | Key events |
| Code ID | UA-XXXXXX-X | G-XXXXXXXXXX |
| Bounce rate | Single-page visit | Replaced by engagement rate |
| Website and app | Separate properties | Same property |
| Detailed data retention | Up to “never expires” | Up to 14 months on the free plan |
The most important change is the first one: in GA4, everything is an event. Visits, clicks, purchases, scrolling. This gives you flexibility, but GA4 doesn’t know on its own what counts as a sale for your business. You need to tell it, by setting up events and marking the key ones. See events in GA4.
What happened to your old data
- It didn’t migrate. GA4 starts from zero. No Universal Analytics data was copied over.
- If you exported before July 2024, you have the data in the files you saved (spreadsheets, BigQuery, PDF reports).
- If you didn’t export, you lost access. There’s currently no official way to recover your Universal Analytics history.
If you need to compare with previous years, look for old reports sent by your agency, closing spreadsheets, and Looker Studio dashboards that may have kept copies.
How to check your site
- Open your site with Tag Assistant.
- Check if any UA- code shows up. If it does, it’s dead: remove it from the theme, the plugin, or Tag Manager.
- Check that a GA4 G- code exists and that it shows up only once.
- Open GA4 and confirm the Realtime report shows your visit.
If your site doesn’t have GA4 yet, start with GA4: how to set it up from scratch.
GA4 numbers don’t match the old ones
That’s normal. GA4 counts sessions differently, doesn’t have a bounce rate in the same format, and attributes conversions using a different model. Comparing this month’s GA4 numbers with the same month in 2022 on Universal Analytics mixes two different rulers. Compare GA4 with GA4, and use the old data only as a trend reference.
What to set up in GA4 that Universal Analytics used to do on its own
- Goals. In GA4, these become key events, and someone needs to set them up.
- Data retention. The default is 2 months. Change it to 14 months in Admin.
- Internal traffic filter. You need to create it again.
- Google Ads and Search Console links. You need to redo them in the new property.
Frequently asked questions
Can you still create a Universal Analytics property? No. Only GA4.
Does the UA- code on your site cause any problems? It doesn’t send data, but it loads a script for nothing. It’s worth removing.
Do the Google Ads conversions that came from Universal Analytics still work? No. The goals imported from Universal Analytics stopped along with it. If Google Ads still uses those actions, they have no data, and your campaign is optimizing blind. See how to set it up again in Google Ads conversion tracking through Tag Manager.
Want GA4 set up to do what Universal Analytics did? Ciclicko sets up GA4, Tag Manager, and conversions, with your event history documented. Check out the conversions and CRM service.