Telemetry
See exactly what the anonymous daily usage snapshot from a self-hosted Quackback instance contains, what it never contains, and how to turn it off with DISABLE_TELEMETRY.
Self-hosted Quackback sends one anonymous usage snapshot a day so the project can see which versions, setups, and features are in use. This article explains exactly what it contains and how to turn it off. It applies to the open-source edition only.
The snapshot helps decide which platforms to test, which features to invest in, and whether a release breaks background work.
Turn it off
Set this environment variable and restart:
DISABLE_TELEMETRY=trueNothing is sent while it is set.
What it never contains
Names, emails, URLs, hostnames, workspace names, content of any kind, or exact counts. The server's IP address is not stored and is not turned into a location.
Every snapshot passes a check before it is sent. A value that looks like an email or a URL, or a field named like email, url, hostname, or token, stops the send.
Counts are reported in bands: 0, 1-10, 11-50, 51-200, 201-1000, 1001-10000, 10000+.
What it contains
Field | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A random UUID | Counts installs without identifying them |
|
| Which platforms to support and test |
| PostgreSQL major version, process role, whether a config file is in use | Which database versions and topologies matter |
|
| Whether installs stick |
| Feedback on, status off | Which modules are switched on |
| SMTP, S3, AI, widget, MCP configured | Which capabilities are set up |
|
| A fixed label. The endpoint itself is never sent. |
|
| Which sign-in methods to prioritize. Custom identity providers report only as |
|
| Connected integrations, from the built-in catalogue only |
|
| Which translations people use |
| Setup goal, first value reached | Where onboarding works and where it stalls |
| Team and portal users signed in, banded | Real use, not just installs |
| Banded totals per module | Size of installs |
| Banded posts, votes, comments, conversations, replies, tickets, articles, changelog entries, searches, incidents, workflow runs | Which features are used, not just enabled |
| Banded new conversations per channel | Which channels matter |
| Banded AI calls per feature | Which AI features earn their cost |
| Banded | Whether a release breaks background work |
The snapshot goes to the Quackback project's PostHog analytics (EU region). The code that builds it is in apps/web/src/lib/server/telemetry/payload.ts in the Quackback repository.
Product analytics is separate
Telemetry is not product analytics. If you want to see how your own team uses the admin app, you can send pageviews, clicks, and masked session replay to your own PostHog project by setting POSTHOG_KEY. It's off unless you set it, and portal, widget, and help center visitors are never tracked. See the product analytics section of Environment variables.
Related articles
Was this helpful?
Your feedback shapes what we write next.