Shynet

Overview

Shynet is an open-source web analytics project created by US developer Mike Miles, built on the Python Django framework, positioned as a lightweight, privacy-friendly, fully self-hosted traffic statistics tool. Like GoatCounter and Plausible, Shynet uses no cookies and collects no personal identifiers, so it naturally meets privacy regulations such as GDPR.

All of Shynet's data is stored on your own servers and databases, fundamentally preventing third-party collection or use. Its tracking is flexible: it supports the usual JavaScript script, and in JavaScript-free environments it can collect via pixel-based (img tag) tracking, covering a wider range of visits. The dashboard shows page views, unique visitors, referrers, and device and browser distribution in real time, suiting personal site owners, developers, and teams that value data sovereignty.

Key Strengths

• Fully self-hosted with 100% data ownership: All raw statistics live on your servers and databases, with data movement, retention, and deletion fully under your control and no third party involved - a natural baseline for compliance-sensitive scenarios.
• Cookie-free and naturally compliant: No cookies or browser fingerprinting, no consent banner needed, and privacy-regulation friendly by design; see the GDPR compliance checklist.
• Tracks without JavaScript: Pixel-based (img) collection works even when visitors disable scripts, covering more scenarios than JavaScript-only solutions.
• Multi-site and real-time stats: Manage multiple sites from one instance, with real-time dashboards for page views, unique visitors, referrers, devices, and browsers.
• Open source, free, and lightweight: MIT-licensed and completely free, with no hard limits on sites or traffic; the lightweight async script has minimal impact on performance and Core Web Vitals - see Core Web Vitals optimization.

Product Ecosystem

Core Traffic Metrics

Page views, unique visitors, referral sources, device distribution, browser and OS distribution, and top pages, based on complete data with real-time updates and no sampling or estimation.

Pixel-Based Tracking

Beyond the JavaScript script, <img> pixel tags enable tracking in script-free environments such as email or landing pages where injecting scripts is inconvenient - see the website analytics setup guide.

Multi-Site Management

A single instance supports many sites, each with its own tracking identifier and data view, ideal for personal site owners or agencies managing multiple websites.

Privacy Design

No personal identifiers are collected; combined with server firewalls, database encryption, and regular backups, this forms a complete data protection setup; European users can follow the website GDPR compliance checklist.

Deployment

Self-hosted on Django plus a database (e.g., PostgreSQL), quickly launched via Docker - see the Docker production deployment guide.

Integrations and API

A basic API for data queries and export supports integration with your own dashboards - see the website API integration basics.

Limitations

• Relatively basic features: Focused on core traffic metrics, lacking funnels, heatmaps, session recordings, and custom event analytics; pair with other tools for deep behavior analysis.
• Self-hosting needs ops skills: You maintain the Django service, database, security patches, and upgrades; non-technical teams face a real barrier.
• No commercial support guarantee: A community-maintained open-source project without official SLAs or commercial support, so availability is your responsibility.
• Limited ecosystem and docs: Documentation is mainly in English, and the community and plugin ecosystem are smaller than more mainstream projects such as Plausible or Matomo.

Use Cases

• Personal site owners who value data sovereignty (Recommended ★★★★★): Fully self-hosted, data-owned, lightweight, and free - ideal for personal blogs and content sites.
• Privacy- and compliance-sensitive industries (Recommended ★★★★★): No cookies and no personal data naturally satisfy GDPR and similar requirements.
• Scenarios needing script-free collection (Recommended ★★★★): Pixel-based tracking covers visitors who disable JavaScript.
• Developers and technical teams (Recommended ★★★★): Open source and customizable with an API for further integration.
• Product teams needing deep behavioral analytics (Recommended ★★): Lacks funnels and event analytics - consider Matomo or PostHog.

Pricing

Shynet is an open-source project whose main deployment is free self-hosting; you only pay for a VPS (about 1 vCPU / 1GB is enough to run it). If an official hosted service exists, exact prices are per the official website and are not fabricated here.

FAQ

• Does Shynet need cookies? No. Shynet uses no cookies or browser fingerprinting and even supports pixel-based collection without JavaScript, naturally meeting GDPR and similar regulations - see the GDPR compliance checklist.

• How do Shynet, GoatCounter, and Plausible compare? All three are open-source privacy-friendly analytics: GoatCounter is the simplest with script-free support, Plausible has a smaller script (about 1KB) with mature cloud hosting, and Shynet is Django-based and fully self-hosted - see the website analytics setup guide.

• Does Shynet support multiple sites? Yes. A single self-hosted instance can manage many sites, each with its own tracking identifier and data view - see web analytics tools; see website analytics setup guide.

• What does Shynet need to deploy? A Linux server running Docker; it runs on Django and a database (e.g., PostgreSQL), with about 1 vCPU / 1GB sufficient for small to mid-size traffic - see the Docker production deployment guide.

• Can Shynet replace Google Analytics? For basic traffic stats and privacy compliance, yes; but it lacks GA's funnels, events, and ad attribution - pair with other tools for deeper analysis - see web analytics tools; see website analytics setup guide.