Understanding Tracking Pixels and Data Privacy

Data privacy is a growing concern in the credit union world, and rightfully so. Recently, some articles have raised alarms about tracking pixels, painting them as a security risk or a privacy threat. While it’s true that some tracking technologies have been misused, it’s important to distinguish legitimate concerns from misconceptions—and to recognize that responsible use of tracking pixels is both safe and necessary for a credit union's digital marketing efforts.

What Are Tracking Pixels?

Tracking pixels are small pieces of code embedded in a website or email that allow credit unions to understand how users interact with their content. These pixels provide valuable, anonymized insights into website traffic, campaign performance, and user behavior—allowing credit unions to improve the online experience and serve visitors more effectively.

As long as tracking pixels come from reputable companies with strong privacy policies in place, removing them does not enhance privacy protections. Instead, it only makes it harder to measure marketing effectiveness and track engagement accurately.

Pixels & Cookies: What’s the Difference?

Before diving into distinctions, it's important to understand what cookies are. Cookies are small data files stored on a user's browser that help websites remember preferences, login details, and interactions.

One key distinction to make is between first-party and third-party cookies:

• First-party cookies are set by your own website and are generally considered more secure and privacy-compliant.
• Third-party cookies are set by external sites and are being phased out due to privacy concerns. Their use has become increasingly limited, with major web browsers restricting them by default. This ensures better privacy protections and compliance with evolving regulations.

How The Most Common Tracking Tools Work

As a performance marketing agency specializing in credit unions, the primary tools we use to track website performance and optimize marketing efforts include Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, HubSpot, Meta, LinkedIn, and Microsoft Ads.

Each of these platforms plays a crucial role in helping credit unions understand user behavior, improve marketing effectiveness, and deliver personalized experiences in a privacy-conscious manner.

These tools utilize tracking pixels and cookies in a compliant and secure manner, ensuring responsible data collection that supports marketing efforts without compromising privacy.

HubSpot Tracking

• What it tracks: HubSpot tracks website visits, form submissions, email opens, and link clicks, but only collects information that users have voluntarily provided, such as through form submissions or account interactions. This helps credit unions understand how users engage with their content without capturing unauthorized personal data.
  
  
• Why it’s necessary: It allows credit unions to provide personalized experiences, improve customer communication, and measure engagement.
  
  
• What data is shared: HubSpot does not share user data with third parties for advertising; it is used solely within the HubSpot CRM environment or within integrated apps like Google Ads, Meta Ads and LinkedIn Ads, but only with connected accounts that are owned by the credit union, with the sole purpose of improving conversion tracking

▶️ More on HubSpot’s Data Privacy: [HubSpot Privacy Policy]

Google Analytics Tracking

• What it tracks: Google Analytics collects data on page views, time spent on site, traffic sources, user behavior, and conversions.
  
  
• Why it’s necessary: It helps credit unions measure website performance, optimize content, and enhance user experience.
  
  

• What data is shared: Google Analytics data remains within the Google ecosystem and is anonymized, meaning no personally identifiable information (PII) is shared. In fact Google states, “To protect user privacy, Google policies mandate that no data be passed to Google that Google could use or recognize as personally identifiable information (PII)”

▶️ More on Google Analytics Data Privacy: [Google Analytics Privacy]

Google Ads Tracking

• What it Tracks: Google Ads pixels track ad performance, conversion rates, and user behavior after clicking an ad.
  
  
• Why it’s Necessary: It allows credit unions to measure ad effectiveness and ensure marketing budgets are spent wisely.
  
  
• What Data is Shared: Google Ads data is used for ad targeting within Google’s network but does not expose sensitive user information.

▶️ More on Google Ads Data Privacy: [Google Ads Privacy & Terms]

Google Tag Manager (GTM)

• What it does: GTM is a tag management system that allows credit unions to efficiently manage and deploy marketing tags (including tracking pixels and scripts) without modifying the website code directly.
• Why it’s necessary: It streamlines the process of adding and updating tracking tags, reducing reliance on developers while ensuring data accuracy.
• How it Handles Data: GTM itself does not collect personal data but facilitates the deployment of other tracking tools like Google Analytics and Google Ads, which operate within strict privacy and compliance frameworks.
  
  

Microsoft Ads Tracking

• What it Tracks: Microsoft Ads tracking pixels help monitor ad performance, conversions, and user interactions after engaging with an ad.
  
  
• Why it’s necessary: It enables credit unions to optimize ad spending, improve targeting, and measure campaign effectiveness across Microsoft’s search network.
  
  
• What data is shared: Data collected remains within Microsoft’s advertising ecosystem and does not expose personally identifiable information (PII) to external parties.

▶️ More on Bing Ads Data Privacy: [Microsoft Advertising Privacy Policy]

Meta Ads Tracking

• What it tracks: Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Ads tracking pixels monitor user engagement with ads, website interactions, and conversion events.
  
  
• Why it’s necessary: This helps credit unions optimize campaigns, retarget visitors, and measure ROI.
  
  
• What data is shared: Data collected is used within Meta’s advertising network and does not include personally identifiable financial information.

▶️ More on Meta Ads Data Privacy: [Meta Privacy Policy]

LinkedIn Ads Tracking

• What it tracks: LinkedIn Ads pixels track ad clicks, conversions, and user engagement with LinkedIn-sponsored content.
  
  
• Why it’s necessary: It enables precise targeting, audience insights, and campaign performance measurement that isn’t available on most other advertising platforms.
  
  
• What data is shared: Data remains within LinkedIn’s advertising ecosystem and complies with strict data privacy regulations.

▶️ More on LinkedIn Ads Data Privacy: LinkedIn Privacy Policy

Compliance with Privacy Regulations

Regulation P under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) requires financial institutions to disclose how they collect and share consumer information.

The tracking technologies we choose to use—Google Ads, Google Analytics, HubSpot, Linkedin, and Microsoft Ads—operate within first-party data collection frameworks and comply with strict privacy regulations.

We also ensure that all tracking pixels align with client privacy policies for full transparency and compliance.

A common concern raised in recent discussions is that tracking pixels send data off the credit union’s servers without clarity on what’s being collected. However, when dealing with the tools we use as an agency, this is not a security risk for the following reasons:

• Anonymized Data: The data collected by Google Analytics, Google Ads, HubSpot, LinkedIn, and Microsoft Ads does not include personally identifiable financial information.
  
  
• Limited Scope: These tracking tools only gather engagement metrics (e.g., page views, ad clicks, time spent on site)—they do not access private user data or sensitive financial details.
  
  
• Regulatory Compliance: These platforms adhere to strict security and privacy standards, including GDPR, CCPA, and financial industry best practices, ensuring that data is handled safely and transparently.

The Bottom Line

Yes, data privacy matters.
Yes, credit unions should be responsible with tracking technology.
And yes, some tracking pixels are capable of doing nefarious things.

But not all tracking pixels are inherently bad—and the ones reputable marketing agencies use are designed to respect privacy while providing valuable insights to improve marketing effectiveness.

If you have any concerns about tracking pixels, we’re happy to walk you through how we use them and what options are available to ensure compliance with your credit union’s privacy policies.