Frequently Asked Questions

A tracking pixel is a small piece of JavaScript code embedded in a website that collects data about visitor behaviour and sends it to an advertising platform. Major platforms including Facebook, Google, TikTok, LinkedIn, Bing, Reddit, and Pinterest each have their own pixel.

Enter your domain in the PixelSpy scanner on the homepage. It will detect all 7 major advertising pixels within seconds, extract pixel IDs where found, and provide optimisation tips for each one.

Some pixels are loaded dynamically via JavaScript or Google Tag Manager, meaning they do not appear in the raw HTML that static analysers read. PixelSpy performs static HTML analysis which catches 60–70% of pixel installations. If GTM is detected, pixels inside GTM containers may not be visible to static analysis.

When Google Tag Manager is detected on a page, pixels may be loading through GTM rather than being embedded directly in the HTML. These dynamically-loaded pixels are not visible in static HTML analysis. Use the browser's Tag Assistant or network tab to see what tags GTM is firing.

A duplicate pixel occurs when the same tracking pixel is initialised more than once on a page — for example, once in a direct script tag and again inside a GTM container. This causes every event (including conversions and purchases) to be counted twice, inflating your conversion data and making campaign optimisation unreliable.

A Pixel ID is the unique identifier for your advertising pixel account. For Facebook, it is a 15–16 digit number. For Google, it is a GTM-XXXXXXX or G-XXXXXXXXXX format. Knowing your pixel ID is important for verifying the correct account is connected and for troubleshooting tracking issues.

PixelSpy does not store the raw HTML content of the websites you scan. Scan results are generated on demand and are not permanently stored in a database. The shareable result URLs are generated by re-running the scan at the time of the visit.

Yes — PixelSpy can detect pixels on any publicly accessible website. This is useful for competitive research to understand which advertising platforms your competitors are investing in.

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a tag management system that deploys and manages all your tracking tags from one interface. Google Analytics (GA4) is an analytics platform. GTM deploys GA4 — and also deploys Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn, and other tags. PixelSpy detects both.

GTM allows you to manage all your tags in one place without requiring a developer for every change. It reduces deployment errors, provides version control, and prevents the common mistake of installing the same pixel twice (once directly and once in GTM).

Yes, PixelSpy is completely free. There is no account required and no limit on the number of scans you can run.

PixelSpy uses static HTML analysis and pattern matching against known pixel signatures. It accurately detects pixels embedded directly in HTML. It may not detect pixels that load exclusively via JavaScript after page render or exclusively through GTM containers that require JavaScript execution.