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How to Disable MonsterInsights Frontend Tracking Code

31 threads Sep 10, 2025 Plugin → Monsterinsights

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Many WordPress site administrators use MonsterInsights for its powerful analytics dashboard but prefer to manage their Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager code implementation separately. A common challenge arises when MonsterInsights automatically injects its tracking code, potentially leading to duplicate tracking or conflicts with other scripts that need to load in a specific order.

This guide explains the methods available to prevent MonsterInsights from outputting its tracking scripts on your site's frontend while still allowing you to use its reporting features.

Why Disable Frontend Tracking?

There are several scenarios where you might want to disable the frontend tracking code inserted by MonsterInsights:

  • You are manually inserting your own analytics code.
  • You are using a tag management solution like Google Tag Manager.
  • You need to load other scripts, such as Google Experiments code, before the analytics tag.
  • You require specific GDPR/cookie consent compliance that isn't handled by MonsterInsights.
  • You want to avoid potential conflicts with other plugins or your Content Security Policy (CSP).

Method 1: Using a PHP Constant (Recommended)

The most straightforward and reliable method is to define a PHP constant in your WordPress installation's wp-config.php file. This method is officially suggested by the MonsterInsights team and is designed to completely disable all frontend tracking output.

Steps:

  1. Access your website's server via FTP/SFTP or your hosting provider's file manager.
  2. Locate the wp-config.php file in the root directory of your WordPress installation.
  3. Edit the file and add the following line of code above the line that says /* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */:
define( 'MONSTERINSIGHTS_DISABLE_TRACKING', true );

This constant tells MonsterInsights not to output any tracking code on the frontend of your site. You can still connect your Google Analytics account within the plugin's settings to view reports in the WordPress dashboard.

Method 2: Using a Custom Function (For Developers)

If you are comfortable adding code to your theme's functions.php file or a custom plugin, you can use WordPress hooks to remove the tracking actions. The effectiveness of this method can change between plugin versions, as seen in the sample threads where previously working code stopped functioning after an update.

The following code snippet attempts to remove the primary tracking actions:

function my_custom_disable_monsterinsights_tracking() {
    // Remove the main tracking script from the head
    remove_action( 'wp_head', 'monsterinsights_tracking_script', 6 );
    // Remove additional scripts from the footer if present
    remove_action( 'wp_footer', 'monsterinsights_scroll_tracking_output_after_script', 11 );
    // Attempt to disable events tracking
    remove_action( 'template_redirect', 'monsterinsights_events_tracking', 9 );
}
add_action( 'init', 'my_custom_disable_monsterinsights_tracking', 9999 );

Important Note: The exact actions and priorities to remove can vary. If this code does not work after a plugin update, it may be necessary to investigate the new action hooks used in the updated version.

Important Considerations

  • No Duplicate Tracking: Ensure you are not running two instances of your analytics code, as this will skew your data.
  • Testing: After implementing either method, always view your website's page source to confirm the MonsterInsights tracking code has been removed.
  • Plugin Updates: The code-based method (Method 2) is more likely to break after a major plugin update than the constant method (Method 1).
  • Dashboard Reports: Disabling frontend tracking only stops the code output. Your dashboard reports will still display data for the property you have connected within MonsterInsights, provided that property is receiving data from your other tracking method.

By using one of these methods, you can leverage the MonsterInsights dashboard for data analysis while maintaining full control over how and where your analytics tracking code is implemented on your site.

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