Automatic Events

HitKeep’s browser tracker can emit a small set of built-in events automatically:

outbound_click
file_download
form_submit

These events use the same hk.js -> /ingest/event -> Events page pipeline as manual custom events, so you do not need a new API, schema migration, or separate dashboard.

Tracking settings with automatic event toggles

Default behavior

Automatic tracking is enabled by default once you install hk.js.

The tracker captures only privacy-safe metadata:

outbound_click: target_host, target_path, target_protocol
file_download: file_host, file_path, file_ext
form_submit: action_host, action_path, method, same_origin, optional form_id

HitKeep strips query strings and hashes before storing these properties. The tracker does not capture link text, form field values, or request bodies.

Install the default snippet

<script async src="https://your-hitkeep.example/hk.js"></script>

That snippet records page views plus the automatic events above.

Disable specific automatic events

Use the Site settings -> Tracking drawer in the dashboard, or add opt-out attributes manually:

<script
  async
  src="https://your-hitkeep.example/hk.js"
  data-disable-outbound-tracking="true"
  data-disable-download-tracking="true"
  data-disable-form-tracking="true"
></script>

Available attributes:

data-disable-outbound-tracking="true"
data-disable-download-tracking="true"
data-disable-form-tracking="true"

Existing tracker options still work the same way:

data-collect-dnt="true"
data-disable-beacon="true"

Event rules

HitKeep applies a few precedence rules so one user action maps to one event:

Manual window.hk.event(...) calls stay independent and unchanged.
Future explicit/tagged tracking should override generic auto-tracking.
If a clicked link is both outbound and a download, HitKeep records outbound_click.
Clicks inside forms are ignored for link auto-tracking; only the actual submit event records form_submit.

Analyze automatic events in the dashboard

Open Events for your site and choose one of the automatic event quick picks when data is available.

You can then:

break the event down by its properties
filter the timeseries by a property value
inspect the audience panels for pages, sources, devices, and countries

Events page showing automatic event breakdowns

When to use manual events instead

Use window.hk.event() when you need domain-specific business semantics such as:

product onboarding steps
pricing CTA variants
plan upgrades
chatbot milestones

Automatic events are best for baseline interaction coverage. Manual events are still the right tool for custom product analytics and conversion tracking.