Can website owners see who visits?

 Whether website owners can see who visits depends on what information they use:

General website traffic data:

• Yes, website owners can see general website traffic data. This typically includes information like the number of visitors, their location, the pages they visit, and the devices they use. This data is collected through analytics tools like Google Analytics and doesn't reveal individual identities.

Identifying individual visitors:

• In most cases, no. It's important to respect visitor privacy, and most website owners cannot identify individual visitors unless they explicitly provide information through forms, logins, or other actions.

Exceptions:

• Limited personal information: Website owners may see usernames or email addresses used during registration or commenting, but that's usually with user consent.
• IP addresses: Technically, website owners can access IP addresses of visitors. However, these typically don't directly reveal individual identities and require further investigation (not always legal or feasible) to do so.
• Specific tracking tools: Some specialized services claim to identify visitors, but their effectiveness and ethical implications are debatable.

Remember:

• Privacy regulations: Data privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA restrict how website owners can collect and use personal information.
• Transparency and consent: Websites should be transparent about what data they collect and obtain user consent when necessary.
• Focus on website improvement: Most website owners use traffic data to analyze trends and improve user experience, not identify individuals.