Disappearing WordPress Jetpack Stats – Where Are They?

JetPack, a feature packed and ever expanding and updating set of features for the worlds most popular blogging platform (indeed, this blog is powered by it as well!), has now become a mainstay of any self respecting WordPress bloggers blog.

Even if you use none of the extra fancy features (which can be quite useful) its worth it alone just for the stats.  For those who have been blogging for quite a while now, you’ll remember the days that WordPress.com stats was a feature in itself, which was later merged into JetPack on its release.

Many people use the stats to track activity on their website, popular topics, posts, pages, times of day etc etc.  You name it, there’s probably a metric for it in the JetPack stats somewhere (and if there’s not, its pretty much assured to be in Google Analytics – which of course you’re all using as well aren’t you? 😉 ).

However, one thing that has particularly plagued JetPack since its inception has been the periodically and sometimes, apparently random, dumping of previous stats.  Many users log in, check there stats and to their horror they’re gone.  But what’s causing this?

What’s Causing Stats To Do A Runner?

Well there’s only one group of people that can definitively answer this, and thats the WordPress Devs.  However, due to nature of the beast that is WordPress and the many different scenarios a user can be in when there stats go bye-bye, its impossible for even them to determine one definite cause (as is to be expected).

However, with a lot of confidence I can safely say:

It’s not just one problem!

Indeed, it most definitely is caused by multiple different situations – probably 10s or even 100s.  However, the result of all these different situations is the same – the apparent removal of historical stats, or reset.

Some Likely Culprits…

JetPack Updates

First culprit – JetPack updates.  Probably an obvious one for most of you but its possible on some occasions updating your JetPack has conspired with other events to rid you of your past statistical information.  However, to make it clear, updating JetPack doesn’t, as a matter of course, delete your stats – indeed many updates are performed and no stats are lost.

There are several possible reasons for this apparent indeterminacy of the problem.  Maybe you’ve reconnected to a different WordPress.com account that you have (i.e. the wrong one!).  Maybe you’ve logged on to your WordPress account and accidently (intentionally) deleted your previous stats?  Or maybe the server holding that data had a hiccup and its temporarily lost.  There are literally hundreds of reasons.

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WordPress Updates

Similar in nature to the JetPack updates above – maybe slightly more likely than the above reason but most of what’s said above applies to WordPress Updates as well.

As we say, many updates go without a hitch and updating WordPress, as a matter of course, shouldn’t rid you of your stats.

It’s good to note here that updating your WordPress (and indeed JetPack and any plugins) is essential to maintaining the security of your blog.  The small risk of losing your stats shouldn’t dissuade you at all from providing updates – security is paramount on the importance scale.

Compromised Accounts (Hacking)

Maybe your WordPress.com account was hacked?  Maybe your blog was hacked?  Either way, both mechanisms could potentially allow an attacker to delete, reset or remove your stats.

Temporary Server Faults / Failure / Maintenance / Downtime / Communication Errors

Maybe WordPress are upgrading the server that your stats are held on?  Maybe its being maintenaned?  Maybe there’s a fault?  Maybe its failed?  All of these causes should thankfully be temporary and resolve without your intervention.

Maybe the above has happened / is happening to your own server?  If you’re on a managed hosting solution then check with your host and see if they can offer assistance (and maybe an explanation).

Maybe there’s some for of communication problem between the server your site is hosted on and the WordPress.com server that your stats are on?  This isn’t as uncommon as you may think.

Malicious Software

Maybe you’ve accidently installed some crap (yes, that is a technical term) onto your server.  Or maybe a hacker has.  Or maybe one of your users has accidently or otherwise exploited a loophole in your website somewhere.  This is probably on the lower end of the likeliness spectrum for this problem.

Conclusion

A quick Google shows that losing JetPack (WordPress.com) stats isn’t that uncommon.  Indeed there are many many results with an equal number of explanations.

The key point to remember is that we should treat JetPack (WordPress) stats like an added bonus – one of many weapons in our statistical arsenal.  After all, we shouldn’t be sticking all our eggs in one basket!

If you haven’t done already its much advised that you install Google Analytics on your website as a backup for JetPack stats.  Not only does it serve as a backup but it should also be used in addition to JetPack stats as it provides a wealth of extra information which is not present in WordPress stats.

Also – as an added bonus – you can use Google Analytics across your whole website.  It’s not just restricted to your blog.