{"id":20307,"date":"2020-01-29T14:05:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T14:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/dark-social"},"modified":"2026-06-26T14:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T14:03:18","slug":"dark-social","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/dark-social","title":{"rendered":"Dark Social"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dark<\/p>\n

Definition: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Dark Social\u00a0<\/em>refers to content that is produced outside of what can be measured by digital analytics<\/a> programs. This occurs especially when a link is sent via online chat or email, rather than shared through a social media platform, where such referrals can be measured.<\/p>\n

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The dark social in marketing<\/h2>\n

In the event that content is shared through dark social,<\/strong>it is possible that the marketing employed on social media is not focusing on the type and quality of content may be overlooking a huge portion of social sharing.<\/p>\n

A large portion of direct traffic is actually social dark, as it originates through a URL <\/a>that has been shared, but is marked as direct through analytics tools. This actually comes from an email, a Whatsapp or a message sent from one user to another, without there being an effective way to measure it, since these URLs are not always accompanied by utm.<\/p>\n

Dark social channels<\/h2>\n
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  • SMS or chat:<\/strong> Text messages and native messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Hangouts don’t pass referrers when someone clicks on a link.<\/li>\n
  • Email:<\/strong> Providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook have strict user privacy regulations. Activities such as click data do not pass a referral code.<\/li>\n
  • Native mobile apps:<\/strong> There are apps, such as Snapchat, that don’t have clickable links, so users have to type the link directly into the browser. In this case, this traffic can be attributed as direct traffic.<\/li>\n
  • Private and secure browsing:<\/strong> Browsing in Chrome incognito mode or using HTTPS won’t pass a referral code.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Frequently asked questions about Dark Social<\/h2>\n
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    \nWhat is Dark Social?<\/summary>\n

    Dark Social is social traffic or interaction that comes from channels that are difficult to attribute, such as private messaging, email, closed apps, or manually copied links. In analytics it often appears as direct traffic or without a clear referral.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n

    \nWhy does Dark Social matter in marketing?<\/summary>\n

    It matters because it can hide the real influence of content, recommendations, and private conversations on acquisition. If it is not considered, a brand may undervalue pieces that are widely shared outside public platforms.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n

    \nHow can Dark Social be measured better?<\/summary>\n

    Measurement can be improved with tagged URLs, share buttons, UTMs, attribution surveys, analysis of direct traffic to deep URLs, and comparison between content peaks and sessions without an identified source.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n

    \nWhat limitation does Dark Social analysis have?<\/summary>\n

    Attribution is never perfect because many exchanges happen in private spaces. It is advisable to combine quantitative signals with reasonable hypotheses and not attribute all direct traffic to Dark Social.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n