TECHNICAL GLOSSARY · STANDARDS DEFINITION · VERIFIED 2026-11-10
UTM Parameters
Authoritative Definition
Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters are five standard query string variants appended to URLs to track marketing campaigns, referral sources, and user journeys across the web.
Common Aliases:UTM tagsUTM trackingCampaign tracking
## Anatomy of a Tracked Link
UTM tags were created by Urchin Software (later acquired by Google Analytics). A typical tracked URL looks like:
`https://example.com/article?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=launch`
These parameters enable third-party analytics trackers to profile user referral paths. Stripping them preserves link destination while cutting off surveillance links.
Related Client-Side Privacy Tools
Run the in-browser implementations adhering to UTM Parameters with zero server uploads.