How does Google Analytics determine the date and time of an event?

Question

I am trying to figure out just how Google Analytics logs the actual time of an event such as a visit or a click. Does it use the time being passed by the HTTP request, the date in the HTTP Header, or the date it actually receives the request ?

The reason why I am asking is because I am developing an app where there MAY be some times where the internet connection is lost. So, I am considering developing a buffered proxy to hold these requests until the connection is back up. If the data/time is based on the header or the time of the request, then it will not be a viable solution for me.

If anyone knows, it would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

The Google Analytics server uses the actual time of the event. This means that any event notification buffering that your app performs will be timeshifted in your reports.

Only you can decide if that's OK for your reporting requirements: which is the lesser evil, to drop events, or misreport the times that some events occur?