How sessions start and end

Scope of this page

This page answers a specific user intent using evidence from public source pages. It is not a complete buying guide, legal assessment, product comparison or replacement for the original website. Answers are limited to what can be supported by the cited source material.

Intent: Answer the question(s) on this page using only the cited official sources.

Topic: User Session Hit Google Analytics

Last updated:

Primary source: https://internetwarriors.de/en/blog/user-session-hits-draw-the-right-conclusions-with-google-analytics

Quick Info

A session automatically ends after 30 minutes of user inactivity.

Purpose and usage

This page provides short, extractable answers for the topic above.

Key points

  • Which events end a session in Google Analytics?: 30 minutes of inactivity, midnight, and access through a new campaign end a session.
  • At which step does inactivity matter in a Google Analytics session?: In the session end step, inactivity matters because the session automatically ends after 30 minutes without further activity.
  • Does a new campaign start affect the current session?: Yes, if the site is accessed through a new campaign, the current session is terminated; no, if no new campaign access occurs.

Terms and entities

Canonical definitions live on the Facts pages. This page only references them.

When does a session end after inactivity in Google Analytics?

A session automatically ends after 30 minutes of user inactivity.

Which events end a session in Google Analytics?

30 minutes of inactivity, midnight, and access through a new campaign end a session.

At which step does inactivity matter in a Google Analytics session?

In the session end step, inactivity matters because the session automatically ends after 30 minutes without further activity.

Does a new campaign start affect the current session?

Yes, if the site is accessed through a new campaign, the current session is terminated; no, if no new campaign access occurs.

Sources

  1. https://internetwarriors.de/en/blog/user-session-hits-draw-the-right-conclusions-with-google-analytics

Machine metadata