In Google Analytics 4 (GA4), a “New Session” is understood as a group of user interactions or events that take place within a given timeframe on your website. These can include various events such as page views, event completions, or eCommerce transactions. GA4 marks some departures from Universal Analytics (UA) in how it approaches sessions:
- Sessions in GA4 encompass a group of events, not just page views.
- Session duration and timeouts are measured differently.
- Sessions can start without a pageview.
- Sessions do not expire if a user returns via a different campaign source.
GA4 counts sessions using first-party cookies to track user behaviour on the website, allowing the analytics to identify when different interactions belong to the same user, even if they occur in separate sessions. It’s important to note that in GA4, “sessions” and “users” are distinct metrics: a session refers to the period of interaction, whereas a user is an individual who visits the site.
