Quick answer: Universal Analytics stopped collecting data on July 1, 2023, and Google started permanently deleting UA properties in July 2024. GA4 never imported your UA history. So your old data only survives if someone already exported it — to a spreadsheet, via the Reporting API, or as a BigQuery 360 export. If you can still see your UA property, export everything you care about today; if it's already gone, your options are limited to whatever was previously backed up.
This is a spoke of the GA4 vs Universal Analytics guide. It's the practical "what do I do about my history" companion to that comparison.
Is my UA data still there?
Check now — this is time-sensitive. Sign in to Google Analytics and look for the old UA property (its ID starts with UA-). Three outcomes:
- You can open it and see reports → the data still exists. Export immediately; deletion can happen at any time.
- The property is missing entirely → it was likely deleted. Check your organization's other Google accounts and any Looker Studio / spreadsheet backups.
- You see GA4 only → GA4 has none of your UA history; that data was never copied over.
What you can (and can't) recover
Can recover (if the property still exists or was backed up): aggregated reports — sessions, users, pageviews, channels, top pages, conversions, audience and geography breakdowns, and anything you can pull through the Reporting API.
Cannot recover: hit-level raw data (unless you had a GA360 BigQuery export), and anything from an already-deleted property. There is no "undelete" and no way to resume UA collection.
Three ways to export
1. Manual UI export (fastest, lowest fidelity)
Open each report you care about, set the full date range, and use the Share / Export button to download CSV/PDF/Sheets. Fine for a handful of key reports; tedious and lossy at scale (sampling and row limits apply).
2. The Reporting API / Sheets add-on (best for structured backups)
Use the Google Analytics Reporting API (or the Google Analytics Sheets add-on) to pull defined metric/dimension combinations into spreadsheets or your warehouse. This gives you clean, queryable tables and lets you script the full date range. Best balance of effort and completeness for most teams.
3. BigQuery (only if you had GA360)
Standard UA had no BigQuery export — only paid Analytics 360 did. If you were a 360 customer, your raw UA data may already sit in BigQuery and is the highest-fidelity record you have. Confirm the dataset still exists and that nobody set an expiration on it.
What to export first
If time is short, prioritize what you'll actually reference for year-over-year analysis:
- Acquisition — sessions & conversions by channel / source / medium, monthly.
- Conversions — goal completions and ecommerce revenue by month.
- Top content — landing pages and top pages by sessions.
- Audience — users, new vs returning, device, geography.
- Seasonal baselines — full-year monthly totals so you can compare GA4 trends against the old normal.
Store it somewhere durable (a warehouse table or a clearly-labelled Sheet), not just a download in someone's folder.
Living without UA history
Going forward, GA4 is your only live source — so make sure it's actually retaining and collecting data correctly:
- Set GA4 data retention to 14 months (the free-tier max) so Explorations keep history. See GA4 data retention.
- Turn on the free BigQuery export now — unlike UA, every GA4 property gets it, and it's your insurance against future retention limits.
- Audit the GA4 setup so the data you're keeping is trustworthy: step-by-step audit or the 25-point checklist.
Want a fast read on whether your GA4 is set up to retain and collect data correctly? Snifflytics audits your property automatically and flags retention, export, and tracking gaps.
FAQ
Can I still access Universal Analytics in 2026?
Only if your specific UA property hasn't been deleted yet. Google began deleting UA properties in July 2024, so many are already gone. If yours is still visible, export it immediately.
Did my UA data move to GA4?
No. GA4 never imported UA history because the two use different data models. They only ever ran in parallel.
How do I download my old Universal Analytics data?
If the property still exists, export reports from the UI, pull them via the Reporting API / Sheets add-on for structured backups, or use your BigQuery export if you had Analytics 360.
Is there any way to recover a deleted UA property?
No. Deletion is permanent and there's no undelete. Your only copy is whatever was exported beforehand.