FAQ

Common questions about Gabden Conversations, Analytics, and Reactions.

Is Gabden really free?

Yes. Conversations is free for up to 100,000 widget views per month per website — threaded comments, guest/anonymous/social sign-in, moderation, themes, and data export all included. Reactions is free with no limit. Plus ($8/month per site, or a limited-time one-time $49 for lifetime) adds unlimited views, removes the credit, and unlocks Analytics Plus: longer history, Ask AI, and CSV/Google Analytics import.

Do you use tracking cookies?

No. Gabden sets no tracking cookies and keeps no visitor records. Analytics are aggregate only (e.g. a country counted from an edge header, then discarded). A visitor's own reactions are remembered in their browser's localStorage so the widget can show what they picked — that never leaves their device.

What is the "Powered by Gabden" credit, and can I remove it?

A small "Powered by Gabden" line under the comment widget. It's how a free product stays free — it helps people discover Gabden.

• On every plan it is shown by default — including Plus. Upgrading does not remove it automatically.
• Plus customers can hide it anytime under Conversations → Appearance → "Show 'Powered by Gabden' credit." You can also leave it on to support us — thank you if you do. 💛
• Free sites always show it; the toggle is there but locked until you upgrade.

The tiny gabden mark under the standalone Reactions widget works the same way and is removed automatically on any site upgraded to Plus.

Can I change the widget's wording?

Yes — under Conversations → Appearance → Labels & wording you can rename or hide the title ("Conversations"), the message count, the composer placeholder ("Add a thoughtful message"), the Send button, and the empty state — with a live preview. Each field has a reset-to-default button.

What's the difference between Conversations and Reactions?

• Conversations is the full comment system — threaded replies, identities, moderation.
• Reactions is a free, standalone reaction bar (Fluent 3D smilies or star ratings) for any page. Use it on its own, or tick "Also show above my Conversations thread" in the Reactions settings to display it above your comments — no extra install.

How do I moderate comments?

From Conversations → Moderation: approve, hold, or remove comments, set a moderation policy, and maintain a blocked-words list. Plus sites can enable AI moderation with a customizable prompt, which falls back to a local heuristic (no third-party API) if the AI is unavailable.

What happens when a free site hits the view limit?

It becomes read-only for that month: existing comments stay visible and the widget never disappears — only new comments pause until the 1st of the next month. Upgrade to Plus for unlimited views.

Which sign-in methods are supported?

Guest (name + email), fully anonymous, and social sign-in with Google and GitHub. You choose which to allow per site under Conversations → Settings.

Can I import my existing comments?

Yes — Conversations → Import accepts WordPress, Disqus, and CSV exports.

Do you have a WordPress integration?

Yes. Connect your WordPress site so logged-in WordPress users can comment with their existing identity.

Is Gabden Analytics GDPR-compliant?

Yes. Analytics is cookieless and collects no personal data. IP addresses are never stored — an IP is only used in memory to compute a one-way, monthly-rotating hash that groups a visitor's pageviews and tells new vs returning visitors apart within a rolling ~30-day window (then it resets). Both are one-way, neither is a cookie, and neither works across other sites — so no one is trackable long-term or across the web, which is what makes it GDPR-friendly.

Do I need a cookie-consent banner for Analytics?

No. Because Analytics sets no cookies and stores no personal data, there is nothing for a consent banner to disclose. You can drop the tag on your site without a cookie prompt.

Why don't my Analytics numbers match Google Analytics?

They usually won't, and that's expected. Gabden filters bot traffic into a separate Bot traffic page instead of counting it, and because it needs no cookie consent it doesn't lose the visitors who decline a banner. Different tools also define "visitor" and "session" differently. The trends will track together even when the absolute totals differ.

Why doesn't Googlebot show up on the Bot traffic page?

That's expected. Gabden Analytics runs in the browser (with a <noscript> pixel fallback), so it only records crawlers that load something from Gabden. Googlebot fetches your raw HTML without running JavaScript or loading the pixel, then renders separately in a budget-limited service — so it rarely reaches an in-browser script. This affects all client-side analytics (Google Analytics excludes Googlebot too); it isn't a detection problem. For a full record of Google's crawls, check your server access logs or Google Search Console's Crawl Stats. Crawlers that do load page resources — Bingbot, Baiduspider, YandexBot, and many others — still appear normally.

How do I track conversions in Analytics?

Fire a custom event with gabden('event_name') (optionally gabden('event_name', 'detail')), then promote it to a Goal under Analytics → Goals. A goal can also be a URL a visitor reaches, such as /thank-you. Each goal reports completions and a conversion rate.

How long does Analytics keep my data?

The free tier keeps 30 days of raw event history. Plus unlocks longer history through daily rollups and enables CSV Import. If you cancel Plus, there's a 30-day grace period before older history is purged.

What gets tracked automatically without extra code?

Outbound link clicks (Exit Link Activity) and file downloads such as PDF, ZIP, and MP3 (Download Activity) are captured automatically. Both appear in the Visitor Activity panel in Reports.