What does Direct or None mean in Plausible's source report?

Definition: As of October 2026, Plausible's Direct / None source groups recorded visits whose origin it cannot identify from referral or campaign information. The category includes typed addresses and visits through links that arrive without usable source information.

Key facts

• Plausible's traffic sources documentation lists emails, documents, instant messengers, mobile apps and bookmarks as typical origins of traffic without browser referral information.
• Plausible's direct traffic explanation identifies missing tracking on the landing page as another way to lose the original campaign information.
• Plausible's troubleshooting documentation states that campaign parameters affect attribution only on the first pageview of a new session.

Why can a link click appear as Direct / None?

A referrer is information that a browser supplies about where a visitor comes from. Plausible's direct traffic article explains that apps and documents sometimes supply none. A copied URL pasted into the address bar or a QR code can also lead to a page without identifying its origin.

The same article describes referring sites suppressing the referrer and browser settings or extensions restricting it. When campaign information is also unavailable, the recorded visit can appear as direct. A blocker that prevents the visit from being recorded leaves it absent from the report.

How can campaign links retain a source?

UTM parameters are labels added to a URL to describe a campaign. Plausible's UTM tracking guide gives this example:

https://yourdomain.com?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=milestone

Here, utm_source names the source, utm_medium describes the channel, and utm_campaign names the campaign. The parameters follow a question mark and are separated by ampersands. Plausible's Campaigns report provides UTM Source, UTM Medium and UTM Campaign breakdowns for tagged visits.

Plausible's troubleshooting guide requires redirects to preserve the query string, the portion containing those parameters. If a redirect removes it, attribution falls back to the referrer; without a referrer, the visit appears as Direct / None.

How can missing attribution be checked?

Plausible's direct traffic guide gives a dashboard path for examining where these visits begin:

Sources > Direct / None > Entry Pages

For tagged-link tests, Plausible's troubleshooting documentation specifies a device and network combination that has not visited the site in the previous 30 minutes. A session stays active for 30 minutes after its last pageview, and another tagged click during that session keeps the original attribution. The documentation directs the tester to check Campaigns after the visit.

Related terms

• UTM parameters
• HTTP Referer header
• Referrer-Policy
• How do UTM parameters affect Plausible's referral classification?

FAQ

Does Direct / None mean someone typed my address?

Typing an address is one documented origin. Plausible's traffic sources documentation also lists bookmarks, emails and messaging apps.

Can I recover the original sources of past direct visits?

Plausible's direct traffic article says missing source information cannot reliably be reconstructed from the Direct total; adding UTM tags affects future visits.

Sources

1. Plausible, "Traffic sources, referrers and UTM campaigns", updated 15 October 2026
2. Plausible, "What is direct traffic? What does it include, and why is its share the highest?", 16 September 2026
3. Plausible, "How to use UTM parameters to track your campaigns and understand dark traffic", updated 21 April 2026
4. Plausible, "Troubleshooting Plausible Analytics", updated 1 October 2026

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