Inspect Signals

See what a site sends to Google, request by request.

Inspect Signals is a Chrome extension that lists the Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads requests a website sends, in Chrome's side panel. Each request sits under the page and the frame that sent it, so you can check a tracking setup while you browse the site, without opening DevTools.

Add to Chrome Version 0.2.5, Chrome 120 or later.

The Inspect Signals side panel on a demo store's thank-you page: a purchase group with three signals, then GA4 and Google Ads requests under Storefront, each with its id, value, session and consent chips.
The side panel on a demo store's thank-you page.

What it shows

Built for checking client sites, and for screen recordings where someone needs to follow along. It reads requests; it never blocks or changes them.

  • Requests by page and source

    Every GA4 and Google Ads request appears under the page that sent it, with the property or account id, the event, consent state and the GA4 session.

  • Order checks for e-commerce

    Signals for the same order are grouped in one card with their source and value. A rule flags the group when values or consent disagree, or when a purchase has no transaction id.

  • Shopify web pixels

    Requests sent from custom pixel and app pixel sandboxes are attributed to the pixel that sent them, not lumped in with the storefront.

  • Decoded, Params and Raw

    Click a row to read the request three ways: decoded into named fields, as a parameter list, or exactly as it was sent.

  • Flow view

    A Sankey of pages in visit order and a timeline with one lane per property or account, showing session segments and the moments consent changed.

  • Export and reopen

    Save a tab's recording as a JSON file and open it again later in the flow view, for a report or a second look.

In the panel

Screens from a demo store with made-up ids.

A purchase group opened in the Decoded tab, showing a warning that the purchase was sent twice to the same GA4 property, the event fields, transaction id, value, currency and the items table.
One card per order. Every signal sent for the order side by side; duplicates, value and consent mismatches are flagged with the values seen.
The Ads filter: a remarketing view_item hit, an AddToCart conversion sent as an image with a blue star, and a purchase conversion sent as xhr with a yellow star.
Ads conversions at a glance. Label, request type (xhr or image), user data and consent per conversion. Image conversions get a blue star.
The flow page: a Journey Sankey from start through product, cart and thank-you pages, and below it a timeline with one lane for the GA4 property and one for the Google Ads account.
Flow view. The journey through pages in visit order, and a timeline with one lane per property or account.

How it works

The extension reads nothing until you grant a site. Access is asked for one site at a time and Chrome keeps the grant for that site.

  1. Open the site and click the toolbar icon. The side panel opens for that tab.
  2. Press Grant access and accept Chrome's prompt for that site.
  3. Press Reload page. Capture starts from that load.
  4. Browse as usual. Requests appear as they are sent; Clear empties the tab and Export saves it.

Limits

What the extension cannot see, so you know what a clean panel does and does not prove.

  • Server-side GTM and other first-party collection endpoints are not captured.
  • It shows what the browser sent, not what Google accepted.
  • Each tab keeps its newest 1,500 requests. Older ones are dropped and counted in the panel header.
  • Order checks and warnings see only captured requests. They state what was sent, not why.
  • The recording lives in session storage and is gone when the tab or the browser closes, unless you export it.

Privacy

The extension has no server. Nothing it reads leaves your browser.

  • It reads requests only on sites you grant one by one with Grant access.
  • Captured requests are deleted when you close the tab, press Clear or close the browser.
  • No analytics, no advertising, no tracking of you, no remote code.
  • It does not read page content, form fields, passwords or cookies.