A data filter lets you exclude incoming event data from being processed by Google Analytics. Analytics evaluates data filters from the point of creation forward. Data filters do not affect historical data.
Once you apply a data filter, the effect on the data is permanent. For example, if you apply an exclude data filter, the excluded data is never processed and will never be available in Google Analytics or BigQuery. If you want to hide data from certain reports without permanently filtering out the data, use report filters instead.
Types of data filters
You can define the following types of data filters:
- Developer traffic: Filter out activity from developers who use debug mode.
- Internal traffic: Filter out users with an IP address or range of IP addresses.
- Web hostname traffic: Filter excluded domains where your property’s event data comes from.