Privacy Analytics: Scripts vs SDKs vs Proxies vs APIs

Antlytics offers four ways to integrate. They all track the same data — the difference is how requests travel from your visitor's browser to the analytics backend.

The four methods

Script tag

A small inline JavaScript snippet added directly to your HTML <head>.

How it works: The script fires a fetch() request to https://www.antlytics.com/api/ingest/pageview on each page load and SPA navigation.

Best for: Any site where you can edit HTML — plain HTML, WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, static sites.

Trade-off: Requests go to www.antlytics.com directly. Ad blockers with analytics blocklists may block them.

SDK component

An npm package (@antlytics/analytics) with a React component for Next.js.

How it works: Same mechanism as the script tag, but packaged as a React component that integrates cleanly with Next.js's <Script> API.

Best for: Next.js App Router and Pages Router projects. Handles SPA navigation automatically.

Trade-off: Adds a package dependency. Requests still go to www.antlytics.com unless combined with the proxy.

First-party proxy

A server-side route handler that forwards analytics requests from your domain to Antlytics.

How it works: The SDK sends pageview data to /api/antlytics/pageview on your domain. A thin route handler forwards it to https://www.antlytics.com/api/ingest/pageview.

Best for: Any Next.js site where accurate visitor counts matter. Ad blockers cannot block same-origin requests.

Trade-off: Requires a server-side route. Not available on fully static sites without a server.

API

Read your analytics data programmatically via the Antlytics REST API.

How it works: Bearer token authentication. Query endpoints for visitors, pages, referrers, and more.

Best for: Custom dashboards, automations, CI integrations, and AI tool integrations (MCP).

Trade-off: The API is for reading data, not writing it. You still need one of the above methods to collect pageviews.

Choosing the right method

Situation	Recommended method
Plain HTML or CMS (WordPress, Webflow)	Script tag
Next.js App Router	SDK + proxy
Next.js (simple setup, no proxy needed)	SDK only
Non-Next.js framework with server-side	Script tag (or custom proxy)
Reading data for a custom dashboard	API
AI tool integration	API via MCP server

Most developers start with the script tag or SDK, then add the proxy once they care about data completeness under ad blockers.

FAQ

Can I use multiple methods at once? Do not use the script tag and the SDK component together on the same page — you will double-count pageviews. Use one or the other.

What if I'm not using Next.js? The script tag works with any framework. For the proxy, you need a server-side endpoint — implement the forwarding logic in your framework's equivalent of a route handler.

Does the API require a subscription? API access is available on Starter. The API lets you read your data — it does not replace the need for the script tag or SDK to collect it.