How do I use DebugView in GA4 to test tracking?

Applies to: Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Last updated: May 2025

---

Problem

You’ve implemented GA4 tracking (e.g., page views, events, conversions) and want to confirm that data is being sent correctly in real time—before it appears in standard reports.

---

Solution

Use GA4’s DebugView feature to view incoming data in real time from a single user session. This tool helps you validate event names, parameters, and firing logic when testing locally or in staging.

---

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Enable Debug Mode

You need to put GA4 into debug mode to send data to the DebugView panel. You can do this in one of three ways:

Option A: Using Google Tag Manager (GTM)

1. Open your GTM workspace
2. Click Preview
3. Enter your website URL and start the preview session
4. GA4 will automatically tag this session as debug

Option B: Using Google Chrome Extension

• Install Google Analytics Debugger from the Chrome Web Store
• Toggle it on in your browser
• Reload the page where your GA4 tag is installed

Option C: Using Code

If you’re using gtag.js directly, modify your config like this:

gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX', {
  'debug_mode': true
});

Only use this in development environments.

---

2. Open DebugView in GA4

1. Go to https://analytics.google.com
2. Select your GA4 property
3. Navigate to Admin > DebugView

You’ll now see a real-time stream of events from your debug session.

---

3. Review Events

In DebugView, you’ll see:

• A timeline of recent events (on the right)
• The event stream per user session (middle)
• Event parameters and user properties (on the left when an event is selected)

Click on any event to inspect its parameters, including custom ones you’ve sent.

---

Use Cases

• Confirm that events are firing correctly (e.g., form_submit, purchase)
• Ensure event parameters are formatted and named correctly
• Validate that user properties (e.g., user_id, membership_level) are being passed
• Debug conversion tracking before activating live filters

---

Notes

• Only debug-mode sessions appear in DebugView—normal users won’t show up here
• Data can take a few seconds to appear
• For mobile app tracking (via Firebase), DebugView works with the Firebase Debug Mode setup