Flag counter FAQ
Short answers about embeds, unique visitors, and stats. Prefer a walkthrough? See blogs & websites, forums, GitHub README, or create a counter.
How do I add a flag counter to my blog or website?
Create a counter, then paste the HTML snippet (or the image URL in an <img> tag) into your post or template. The visitor’s browser loads the image directly, so pageviews and country flags update normally. Walkthrough: /for-blogs.
How do I embed a flag counter on a forum?
Use the BBCode snippet from the create or stats page. Most forums that allow image tags will render it. Country mapping works when members’ browsers load the image URL without a privacy proxy. Walkthrough: /for-forums.
Does it work without JavaScript or Google Analytics?
Yes. The widget is a plain image URL — no scripts on your page. It works on blogs, forums, Notion, static sites, and GitHub/GitLab READMEs wherever JavaScript analytics are stripped or blocked.
How do unique visitors work?
Each counter counts a visitor as unique once per IP address for the lifetime of that counter. There is no cookie and no rolling window — the same IP does not add another unique later. Pageviews still increase on every image load.
What shows on the stats page?
Each counter has a /details/{code} page with unique visitors and all-time pageviews, views per unique, optional today-vs-yesterday comparison, traffic quality (GitHub Camo / bots / other), a first-seen visit chart, a visitor map, country/browser/device breakdowns with share percentages, and a filterable visit list. Ranges use your browser’s time zone for Today, Yesterday, and Last 30 days. Uniques are still lifetime-by-IP — range charts count first-seen visits in that window, not repeat pageviews.
Why is everyone from the United States on GitHub?
GitHub proxies README and many other external images through camo.githubusercontent.com. Those requests hit our servers from GitHub’s US proxy IPs, so GeoIP usually shows United States. We cannot see the real visitor’s country behind Camo. Country flags are meaningful on direct embeds (blogs, forums, Notion, HTML sites) where the visitor’s browser loads the image URL without a privacy proxy.
Do I need an account?
No. Anyone can create a counter without signing in. You’ll get a one-time password to edit settings later, or you can sign in and claim the counter to manage it from your dashboard.
What data do you store?
For each hit we process IP (for uniqueness and GeoIP country), country code, and User-Agent when present. Creator IP is stored for abuse prevention and never shown on public pages. See the privacy notice for details.
Is flagcounter.me free?
Yes. Creating and embedding counters is free. Optional accounts exist only to claim and manage counters you own.
More detail on data we process: Privacy.