GDPR-Compliant Website Analytics with nginx, VictoriaLogs and Grafana

TL;DR

Google Analytics, Matomo Cloud and other SaaS tracking tools are problematic from a GDPR perspective: data flows to third parties, cookie banners annoy visitors, and the legal grey area persists.
nginx access logs already contain all relevant data for website analytics – page views, visitor IPs, referrers, user agents, response times.
With structured JSON logging, VictoriaLogs as a log backend and Grafana as a dashboard, you get full website statistics without a single tracking pixel.
All data stays on your own infrastructure. No cookie banner needed. No third-party dependency.
VictoriaLogs, Grafana and Kubernetes are available as managed services from ayedo – including Bring-your-own-App for your web applications.

The Problem with Traditional Analytics Tools

Most website operators reach for Google Analytics or similar SaaS solutions. This creates three fundamental problems:

GDPR Compliance: Data is transferred to third-party providers, often to the US. Consent is required, cookie banners are unavoidable.
Data Control: You hand over visitor data to external service providers – and lose sovereignty over it.
Vendor Lock-in: Price changes, API changes or deprecations catch you off guard.

Yet every web server already contains all the data you need for meaningful website statistics: the access logs.

The Architecture

The solution consists of three components:

nginx (JSON Access Logs)
    |
    v
VictoriaLogs (Log Aggregation & Indexing)
    |
    v
Grafana (Dashboards & Visualization)

nginx delivers structured JSON logs with all relevant request information. VictoriaLogs collects, indexes and stores the logs. Grafana visualizes the data as dashboards.

In a Kubernetes environment, container logs are automatically forwarded to VictoriaLogs by a log collector (e.g. Vector, Fluent Bit or the VictoriaLogs Agent). No additional sidecar or log shipper is required in the application pod.

Step 1: Configure nginx JSON Logging

Standard nginx logs in combined format are difficult to parse. Structured JSON logs, on the other hand, are automatically processed by VictoriaLogs.

Main Configuration (`nginx.conf`)

Define a JSON log format in the http block:

http {
    include       /etc/nginx/mime.types;
    default_type  application/octet-stream;

    log_format json_access escape=json
        '{'
        '"msg":"$request_method $request_uri $status $body_bytes_sent $request_time",'
        '"remote_addr":"$remote_addr",'
        '"http_x_forwarded_for":"$http_x_forwarded_for",'
        '"request_method":"$request_method",'
        '"request_uri":"$request_uri",'
        '"server_protocol":"$server_protocol",'
        '"status":$status,'
        '"body_bytes_sent":$body_bytes_sent,'
        '"http_referer":"$http_referer",'
        '"http_user_agent":"$http_user_agent",'
        '"request_time":$request_time,'
        '"host":"$host"'
        '}';

    access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log json_access;

    sendfile        on;
    keepalive_timeout  65;

    include /etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf;
}

Important: The msg field is interpreted by VictoriaLogs as _msg – this is the human-readable log line displayed in log explorers.

Dockerfile

If you run nginx in a container, replace the default configuration:

FROM nginx:alpine
COPY nginx.conf /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
COPY default.conf /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
COPY /your-static-site /usr/share/nginx/html

Step 2: Set Up VictoriaLogs

VictoriaLogs is a high-performance log backend that automatically parses JSON logs and indexes the fields. It is significantly more resource-efficient than comparable solutions like Elasticsearch or Loki.

Kubernetes Deployment

In a Kubernetes cluster, deploy VictoriaLogs via Helm:

helm repo add victoriametrics https://victoriametrics.github.io/helm-charts/
helm install victoria-logs victoriametrics/victoria-logs-single \
  --namespace victoria-logs \
  --create-namespace

Log Collection

Configure your log collector (e.g. Vector) to forward container logs to VictoriaLogs. The JSON fields are automatically indexed as log.* fields:

log.request_uri – the requested URL
log.status – HTTP status code
log.http_user_agent – browser/bot identification
log.http_x_forwarded_for – real client IP (behind reverse proxy)
log.http_referer – referrer URL
log.request_time – response time in seconds
log.body_bytes_sent – transferred bytes

Step 3: Create a Grafana Dashboard

With VictoriaLogs as a datasource in Grafana, you can build a complete analytics dashboard.

Grafana Dashboard with VictoriaLogs Website Statistics

Here are the key panels and their LogsQL queries:

Base Filter

All queries start with a base filter that scopes logs to your application and excludes Kubernetes health checks:

kubernetes.pod_namespace:"my-namespace" AND kubernetes.pod_name:my-app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube*

Total Requests

Count all incoming requests (excluding health checks):

kubernetes.pod_namespace:"my-namespace" AND kubernetes.pod_name:my-app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube*
| stats count() total_requests

Unique Visitors

Count unique visitor IPs via the X-Forwarded-For header:

kubernetes.pod_namespace:"my-namespace" AND kubernetes.pod_name:my-app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND log.http_x_forwarded_for:~".+"
| stats by (log.http_x_forwarded_for) count()
| stats count() unique_visitors

The filter log.http_x_forwarded_for:~".+" excludes internal traffic without a real client IP.

Page Views (Excluding Static Assets)

Filter out CSS, JavaScript, images and fonts – only real page views:

kubernetes.pod_namespace:"my-namespace" AND kubernetes.pod_name:my-app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND NOT log.request_uri:~"\\.(css|js|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|svg|ico|woff|woff2|ttf|eot|mp4|webm|webp)$"
| stats count() page_views

Status Codes Over Time

Visualize HTTP status codes as a stacked bar chart:

kubernetes.pod_namespace:"my-namespace" AND kubernetes.pod_name:my-app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND log.status:*
| stats by (log.status) count() hits

Use {{log.status}} as the Legend Format in the Grafana panel.

Top Pages

Most visited pages as a table:

kubernetes.pod_namespace:"my-namespace" AND kubernetes.pod_name:my-app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND NOT log.request_uri:~"\\.(css|js|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|svg|ico|woff|woff2|ttf|eot|mp4|webm|webp)$"
| stats by (log.request_uri) count() hits
| sort by (hits) desc
| limit 25

Top Referrers

Where do your visitors come from?

kubernetes.pod_namespace:"my-namespace" AND kubernetes.pod_name:my-app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND log.http_referer:~".+"
| stats by (log.http_referer) count() hits
| sort by (hits) desc
| limit 20

Error Rate (4xx/5xx)

Monitor failed requests:

kubernetes.pod_namespace:"my-namespace" AND kubernetes.pod_name:my-app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND log.status:~"[45].."
| stats count() errors

Average Response Time

Keep performance in check:

kubernetes.pod_namespace:"my-namespace" AND kubernetes.pod_name:my-app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube*
| stats avg(log.request_time) avg_response_time

Ready-Made Dashboard (Copy & Paste)

The complete dashboard as Grafana JSON – import it via Dashboards > Import > Paste JSON. Replace YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID with your VictoriaLogs datasource UID and adjust the Kubernetes filters (my-namespace, my-app) to match your environment.

Show Dashboard JSON

{
  "title": "Website Analytics",
  "tags": ["nginx", "analytics", "victorialogs"],
  "timezone": "browser",
  "editable": true,
  "time": { "from": "now-24h", "to": "now" },
  "refresh": "5m",
  "templating": {
    "list": [
      {
        "name": "namespace",
        "type": "custom",
        "query": "my-namespace",
        "current": { "text": "my-namespace", "value": "my-namespace" },
        "hide": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "app",
        "type": "custom",
        "query": "my-app",
        "current": { "text": "my-app", "value": "my-app" },
        "hide": 0
      }
    ]
  },
  "panels": [
    {
      "collapsed": false,
      "gridPos": { "h": 1, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 0 },
      "title": "Overview",
      "type": "row"
    },
    {
      "title": "Total Requests",
      "type": "stat",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 5, "w": 4, "x": 0, "y": 1 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": { "mode": "thresholds" },
          "thresholds": { "mode": "absolute", "steps": [{ "color": "green", "value": null }] },
          "unit": "short"
        }
      },
      "options": {
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "area",
        "reduceOptions": { "calcs": ["sum"], "fields": "", "values": false }
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube*\n| stats count() total_requests",
        "queryType": "stats",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    },
    {
      "title": "Unique Visitors (by IP)",
      "type": "stat",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 5, "w": 4, "x": 4, "y": 1 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": { "mode": "thresholds" },
          "thresholds": { "mode": "absolute", "steps": [{ "color": "blue", "value": null }] },
          "unit": "short"
        }
      },
      "options": {
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "none",
        "reduceOptions": { "calcs": ["lastNotNull"], "fields": "", "values": false }
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND log.http_x_forwarded_for:~\".+\"\n| stats by (log.http_x_forwarded_for) count()\n| stats count() unique_visitors",
        "queryType": "stats",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    },
    {
      "title": "Page Views (HTML only)",
      "type": "stat",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 5, "w": 4, "x": 8, "y": 1 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": { "mode": "thresholds" },
          "thresholds": { "mode": "absolute", "steps": [{ "color": "purple", "value": null }] },
          "unit": "short"
        }
      },
      "options": {
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "area",
        "reduceOptions": { "calcs": ["sum"], "fields": "", "values": false }
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND NOT log.request_uri:~\"\\\\.(css|js|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|svg|ico|woff|woff2|ttf|eot|mp4|webm|webp)$\"\n| stats count() page_views",
        "queryType": "stats",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    },
    {
      "title": "Error Rate (4xx/5xx)",
      "type": "stat",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 5, "w": 4, "x": 12, "y": 1 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": { "mode": "thresholds" },
          "thresholds": { "mode": "absolute", "steps": [
            { "color": "green", "value": null },
            { "color": "yellow", "value": 10 },
            { "color": "red", "value": 50 }
          ]},
          "unit": "short"
        }
      },
      "options": {
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "area",
        "reduceOptions": { "calcs": ["sum"], "fields": "", "values": false }
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND log.status:~\"[45]..\"\n| stats count() errors",
        "queryType": "stats",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    },
    {
      "title": "Avg Response Time",
      "type": "stat",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 5, "w": 4, "x": 16, "y": 1 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": { "mode": "thresholds" },
          "thresholds": { "mode": "absolute", "steps": [
            { "color": "green", "value": null },
            { "color": "yellow", "value": 0.5 },
            { "color": "red", "value": 1 }
          ]},
          "unit": "s"
        }
      },
      "options": {
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "none",
        "reduceOptions": { "calcs": ["lastNotNull"], "fields": "", "values": false }
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube*\n| stats avg(log.request_time) avg_response_time",
        "queryType": "stats",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    },
    {
      "title": "Total Bandwidth",
      "type": "stat",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 5, "w": 4, "x": 20, "y": 1 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": { "mode": "thresholds" },
          "thresholds": { "mode": "absolute", "steps": [{ "color": "orange", "value": null }] },
          "unit": "decbytes"
        }
      },
      "options": {
        "colorMode": "value",
        "graphMode": "none",
        "reduceOptions": { "calcs": ["lastNotNull"], "fields": "", "values": false }
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube*\n| stats sum(log.body_bytes_sent) total_bytes",
        "queryType": "stats",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    },
    {
      "collapsed": false,
      "gridPos": { "h": 1, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 6 },
      "title": "Traffic Over Time",
      "type": "row"
    },
    {
      "title": "Requests per Minute",
      "type": "timeseries",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 8, "w": 12, "x": 0, "y": 7 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": { "mode": "palette-classic" },
          "custom": { "drawStyle": "line", "fillOpacity": 20, "lineInterpolation": "smooth", "lineWidth": 2, "showPoints": "never", "spanNulls": false, "stacking": { "mode": "none" } },
          "unit": "reqps"
        }
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": { "displayMode": "list", "placement": "bottom" },
        "tooltip": { "mode": "multi", "sort": "desc" }
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube*\n| stats count() requests",
        "legendFormat": "Requests/s",
        "queryType": "statsRange",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    },
    {
      "title": "Status Codes Over Time",
      "type": "timeseries",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 8, "w": 12, "x": 12, "y": 7 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": { "mode": "palette-classic" },
          "custom": { "drawStyle": "bars", "fillOpacity": 80, "lineWidth": 1, "stacking": { "mode": "normal" } },
          "unit": "short"
        },
        "overrides": [
          { "matcher": { "id": "byRegexp", "options": "2.." }, "properties": [{ "id": "color", "value": { "fixedColor": "green", "mode": "fixed" } }] },
          { "matcher": { "id": "byRegexp", "options": "3.." }, "properties": [{ "id": "color", "value": { "fixedColor": "blue", "mode": "fixed" } }] },
          { "matcher": { "id": "byRegexp", "options": "4.." }, "properties": [{ "id": "color", "value": { "fixedColor": "yellow", "mode": "fixed" } }] },
          { "matcher": { "id": "byRegexp", "options": "5.." }, "properties": [{ "id": "color", "value": { "fixedColor": "red", "mode": "fixed" } }] }
        ]
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": { "displayMode": "list", "placement": "bottom" },
        "tooltip": { "mode": "multi", "sort": "desc" }
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND log.status:*\n| stats by (log.status) count() hits",
        "legendFormat": "{{log.status}}",
        "queryType": "statsRange",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    },
    {
      "collapsed": false,
      "gridPos": { "h": 1, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 15 },
      "title": "Content Analysis",
      "type": "row"
    },
    {
      "title": "Top Pages",
      "type": "table",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 10, "w": 12, "x": 0, "y": 16 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "overrides": [{ "matcher": { "id": "byName", "options": "Time" }, "properties": [{ "id": "custom.hidden", "value": true }] }]
      },
      "options": { "cellHeight": "sm", "showHeader": true },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND NOT log.request_uri:~\"\\\\.(css|js|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|svg|ico|woff|woff2|ttf|eot|mp4|webm|webp)$\"\n| stats by (log.request_uri) count() hits\n| sort by (hits) desc\n| limit 25",
        "queryType": "instant",
        "refId": "A"
      }],
      "transformations": [{ "id": "extractFields", "options": { "format": "auto", "keepTime": true, "replace": true, "source": "labels" } }]
    },
    {
      "title": "Top Referrers",
      "type": "table",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 10, "w": 12, "x": 12, "y": 16 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "overrides": [{ "matcher": { "id": "byName", "options": "Time" }, "properties": [{ "id": "custom.hidden", "value": true }] }]
      },
      "options": { "cellHeight": "sm", "showHeader": true },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND log.http_referer:~\".+\"\n| stats by (log.http_referer) count() hits\n| sort by (hits) desc\n| limit 20",
        "queryType": "instant",
        "refId": "A"
      }],
      "transformations": [{ "id": "extractFields", "options": { "format": "auto", "keepTime": true, "replace": true, "source": "labels" } }]
    },
    {
      "collapsed": false,
      "gridPos": { "h": 1, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 26 },
      "title": "Visitors & User Agents",
      "type": "row"
    },
    {
      "title": "Unique Visitors Over Time",
      "type": "timeseries",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 8, "w": 12, "x": 0, "y": 27 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": { "fixedColor": "blue", "mode": "fixed" },
          "custom": { "drawStyle": "bars", "fillOpacity": 60, "lineWidth": 1, "stacking": { "mode": "none" } },
          "unit": "short"
        }
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": { "displayMode": "list", "placement": "bottom" },
        "tooltip": { "mode": "single" }
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube* AND log.http_x_forwarded_for:~\".+\"\n| stats count_uniq(log.http_x_forwarded_for) unique_visitors",
        "legendFormat": "Unique Visitors",
        "queryType": "statsRange",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    },
    {
      "title": "Top User Agents",
      "type": "table",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 8, "w": 12, "x": 12, "y": 27 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "overrides": [{ "matcher": { "id": "byName", "options": "Time" }, "properties": [{ "id": "custom.hidden", "value": true }] }]
      },
      "options": { "cellHeight": "sm", "showHeader": true },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube*\n| stats by (log.http_user_agent) count() hits\n| sort by (hits) desc\n| limit 15",
        "queryType": "instant",
        "refId": "A"
      }],
      "transformations": [{ "id": "extractFields", "options": { "format": "auto", "keepTime": true, "replace": true, "source": "labels" } }]
    },
    {
      "collapsed": false,
      "gridPos": { "h": 1, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 35 },
      "title": "Errors & Performance",
      "type": "row"
    },
    {
      "title": "404 Not Found Pages",
      "type": "table",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 8, "w": 12, "x": 0, "y": 36 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "overrides": [{ "matcher": { "id": "byName", "options": "Time" }, "properties": [{ "id": "custom.hidden", "value": true }] }]
      },
      "options": { "cellHeight": "sm", "showHeader": true },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND log.status:404\n| stats by (log.request_uri) count() hits\n| sort by (hits) desc\n| limit 20",
        "queryType": "instant",
        "refId": "A"
      }],
      "transformations": [{ "id": "extractFields", "options": { "format": "auto", "keepTime": true, "replace": true, "source": "labels" } }]
    },
    {
      "title": "Response Time Over Time",
      "type": "timeseries",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 8, "w": 12, "x": 12, "y": 36 },
      "fieldConfig": {
        "defaults": {
          "color": { "mode": "palette-classic" },
          "custom": { "drawStyle": "line", "fillOpacity": 10, "lineInterpolation": "smooth", "lineWidth": 2, "showPoints": "never", "spanNulls": false, "stacking": { "mode": "none" } },
          "unit": "s"
        }
      },
      "options": {
        "legend": { "displayMode": "list", "placement": "bottom" },
        "tooltip": { "mode": "multi", "sort": "desc" }
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app* AND NOT log.http_user_agent:kube*\n| stats avg(log.request_time) avg_time, max(log.request_time) max_time",
        "legendFormat": "{{__name__}}",
        "queryType": "statsRange",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    },
    {
      "collapsed": false,
      "gridPos": { "h": 1, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 44 },
      "title": "Raw Access Logs",
      "type": "row"
    },
    {
      "title": "Access Logs",
      "type": "logs",
      "datasource": { "type": "victoriametrics-logs-datasource", "uid": "YOUR_VICTORIALOGS_DATASOURCE_UID" },
      "gridPos": { "h": 12, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 45 },
      "options": {
        "dedupStrategy": "none",
        "enableLogDetails": true,
        "showLabels": true,
        "showTime": true,
        "sortOrder": "Descending",
        "wrapLogMessage": false
      },
      "targets": [{
        "expr": "kubernetes.pod_namespace:\"$namespace\" AND kubernetes.pod_name:$app*\n| sort by (_time)\n| limit 200",
        "queryType": "instant",
        "refId": "A"
      }]
    }
  ]
}

Why is this solution GDPR-compliant?

No Third Parties: All data stays on your own infrastructure. No data transfer to Google, Meta or other analytics providers.
No Cookie Banner Needed: No cookies are set and no client-side tracking is performed. Data collection is based exclusively on server-side access logs.
Data Minimization: You only capture data that nginx logs by default. No fingerprinting techniques, no session tracking scripts.
Full Control: Retention policies, access control and deletion deadlines are defined by you.
Legitimate Interest: Processing access logs to ensure network security and performance optimization is covered by Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

Recommendation: Anonymize or truncate IP addresses in the logs if you want to eliminate any remaining legal grey areas. This can be done directly in the nginx configuration or through a VictoriaLogs retention policy.

Advantages Over SaaS Analytics

Criterion	SaaS Analytics (e.g. GA)	nginx + VictoriaLogs + Grafana
GDPR	Cookie banner + consent	No banner needed
Data Location	USA / third party	Own infrastructure
Cost	Often usage-based	Fixed costs (infrastructure)
Customization	Limited	Full control over queries
Performance Data	Limited	Response times, error rates
Bot Detection	Built-in	Via user agent filters
Real-Time	Minutes delay	Seconds

Managed Service from ayedo

Want to use this solution without operating the entire stack yourself? ayedo offers all components as a managed service:

Kubernetes – Fully managed clusters on public cloud, private cloud or on-premise infrastructure
VictoriaLogs – Log aggregation with automatic retention and high availability
Grafana – Dashboarding and alerting with SSO integration
Bring-your-own-App – Deploy your web applications (nginx, Node.js, etc.) on managed Kubernetes clusters with integrated logging

The entire observability stack is operated, monitored and updated by ayedo. You focus on your application – we take care of the infrastructure.

ayedo operates Kubernetes-based infrastructure for organizations that value digital sovereignty, compliance and operational excellence. Learn more

GDPR-Compliant Website Analytics with nginx, VictoriaLogs and Grafana

TL;DR

The Problem with Traditional Analytics Tools

The Architecture

Step 1: Configure nginx JSON Logging

Main Configuration (`nginx.conf`)

Dockerfile

Step 2: Set Up VictoriaLogs

Kubernetes Deployment

Log Collection

Step 3: Create a Grafana Dashboard

Base Filter

Total Requests

Unique Visitors

Page Views (Excluding Static Assets)

Status Codes Over Time

Top Pages

Top Referrers

Error Rate (4xx/5xx)

Average Response Time

Ready-Made Dashboard (Copy & Paste)

Advantages Over SaaS Analytics

Managed Service from ayedo

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GDPR-Compliant Website Analytics with nginx, VictoriaLogs and Grafana

TL;DR

The Problem with Traditional Analytics Tools

The Architecture

Step 1: Configure nginx JSON Logging

Main Configuration (nginx.conf)

Dockerfile

Step 2: Set Up VictoriaLogs

Kubernetes Deployment

Log Collection

Step 3: Create a Grafana Dashboard

Base Filter

Total Requests

Unique Visitors

Page Views (Excluding Static Assets)

Status Codes Over Time

Top Pages

Top Referrers

Error Rate (4xx/5xx)

Average Response Time

Ready-Made Dashboard (Copy & Paste)

GDPR Compliance

Advantages Over SaaS Analytics

Managed Service from ayedo

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Main Configuration (`nginx.conf`)