The share event
share is a GA4 recommended event that fires when a visitor shares content. It carries method (the channel, such as 'Twitter' or 'email'), content_type, and an item_id. It measures sharing intent on your own site — the click of a share control — not whether the share was completed or what reach it earned off-platform.
What this means
share is a GA4 recommended event for content sharing. It fires when a visitor activates a share control, with `method` naming the channel, `content_type` describing what kind of content it is, and `item_id` identifying the specific item. GA4 reports it as a standard engagement event.
It captures the on-site action of choosing to share — a signal of content resonance.
Intent, not reach
The share event measures the click on your share button. It cannot tell you whether the share dialog was completed, whether the post went live, or how many people it reached — that data lives on the destination platform, which your site cannot see. Read it as relative sharing interest across content, not as off-site reach. Never capture recipient addresses or contact lists in the event.
- Fires when a share control is used
- Carries method, content_type, and item_id
- Measures sharing intent, not completed reach
How it appears in analytics and logs
A share event means a visitor used a share control. It records the intent to share; it cannot confirm the post was published or how many people saw it.
Diagnostic use case
Measure which content gets shared and through which channels, identifying material that visitors find worth passing on.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID can record share-control interactions first-party, so on-site sharing intent is measurable without third-party social widgets that track visitors.
Common mistakes
- Treating share clicks as proof of published posts.
- Inferring off-site reach from share events.
- Recording recipient contacts in the event.
Privacy and accuracy notes
share records the channel and what was shared, not the recipients or the sharer's identity. Keep contact lists and personal identifiers out of the event.
Related pages
- The select_content event
select_content is a GA4 recommended event that fires when a visitor selects content — clicking an article, a promotion, or a media item. It carries content_type and item_id to identify what was chosen. It is a general-purpose engagement event for non-commerce content, the editorial counterpart to the retail select_item event.
- Custom events: tracking what matters to you
Custom events capture meaningful actions a pageview cannot — a CTA click, a signup, a video play, a form submit. The value is in a consistent naming taxonomy and well-chosen properties. The risk is putting personal data into event names or properties, which turns analytics into surveillance. This page covers both.
- Event parameters: adding context safely
Event parameters are the key-value details attached to an event: which button, which product, which step. They are what turns a bare event name into something analysable. The craft is choosing a small, stable set of parameters with consistent names and values — and the discipline is keeping every one of them free of personal data, because parameters are stored and widely visible in tooling.
- Event Explorer
Inspect share and engagement events.
Sources and verification notes
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.