Published on 2025-06-26T04:11:49Z

What is DebugView? Real-Time Analytics Debugging with GA4 & PlainSignal

DebugView is a real-time event monitoring interface used in analytics platforms to validate and troubleshoot event collection. It captures and displays analytics events as they are received by the system, allowing developers and analysts to verify correct implementation. This feature is invaluable for QA, helping to identify missing parameters, incorrect event names, or unexpected data patterns before data is processed for reporting. In Google Analytics 4 (GA4), DebugView is accessible under the Configure section, showing a live timeline of events for sessions with debug mode enabled. In PlainSignal, a cookie-free analytics tool, DebugView can be activated via a data-debug='true' attribute in the tracking snippet, with events streaming directly into its dashboard. By providing immediate feedback and detailed payload views, DebugView ensures analytics accuracy and accelerates debugging workflows.

Illustration of Debugview
Illustration of Debugview

Debugview

DebugView provides real-time visibility into analytics events for verifying and troubleshooting data collection in GA4 and PlainSignal.

Purpose and Benefits

DebugView offers several key advantages for analytics implementation and troubleshooting:

  • Immediate feedback

    DebugView displays events as they occur, enabling you to verify that tracking fires correctly on user interactions in real time.

  • Error detection

    Spot missing parameters, invalid event names, or technical issues before they impact your production data.

  • Performance monitoring

    Understand event processing latencies and detect delays or failures in data collection pipelines.

Using DebugView in GA4

Google Analytics 4 provides a built-in DebugView that surfaces live events from debug-enabled sessions.

  • Enable debug mode

    Append ?debug_mode=true to your site URL or install the Google Analytics Debugger Chrome extension to send events in debug mode.

  • Access debugview

    In GA4, navigate to Configure > DebugView to see a live timeline of events for sessions tagged with debug mode.

  • Interpreting data

    Use the timeline to observe event flow and click on events to view detailed parameters, user properties, and device info.

    • Event timeline:

      Shows a chronological sequence of events for the current debug session.

    • Parameter panel:

      Displays all event parameters and user properties associated with each event.

Using DebugView in PlainSignal

PlainSignal offers a lightweight, cookie-free analytics solution with its own DebugView for live event inspection.

  • Integrate debug script

    Add the following tags to your site’s <head> to enable debug mode in PlainSignal:

    <link rel='preconnect' href='//eu.plainsignal.com/' crossorigin />
<script defer data-do='yourwebsitedomain.com' data-id='0GQV1xmtzQQ' data-api='//eu.plainsignal.com' data-debug='true' src='//cdn.plainsignal.com/PlainSignal-min.js'></script>

  • View real-time events

    Open the PlainSignal dashboard and select the DebugView tab to inspect incoming events, payloads, and timestamps.

    • Event payload:

      Review the JSON structure of each event, including name, properties, and metadata.

    • Network monitoring:

      Use your browser’s DevTools network tab to confirm hits are sent to eu.plainsignal.com.

Common Use Cases

DebugView is valuable in scenarios where precise tracking validation and troubleshooting are required.

  • Tagging validation

    Ensure tags configured in Google Tag Manager or other tag managers fire correctly and include expected data.

  • Parameter verification

    Check that custom parameters, such as product IDs or user attributes, are recorded accurately.

  • Troubleshooting data discrepancies

    Compare DebugView output against your production reports to identify missing events or sampling biases.

Best Practices

Follow these guidelines to get the most out of DebugView and maintain data integrity.

  • Use on development environments

    Limit debug tracking to staging or local environments to avoid polluting your production analytics data.

  • Filter by session or user id

    Apply filters in DebugView to isolate your own test sessions using user_pseudo_id or session_id.

  • Manage event volume

    Disable debug mode when not actively testing to reduce noise and avoid potential throttling.

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