Track Who Views Your Google Docs: Including External Viewers
Google Docs has an Activity Dashboard. It shows who opened your document. But it only works for people inside your Google Workspace organization. External recipients, personal Gmail users, and anyone you shared a link with are invisible.
HummingDeck tracks every viewer. Per-page time, unique-viewer detection, return visits, and real-time alerts. One click from inside Google Docs.
Sign up for free, then install the Google Workspace add-on to start tracking.
Activity Dashboard vs. HummingDeck
Track who opened the file
Time per page
Which pages they read
Unique viewers
Return visit alerts
Real-time notifications (email + Slack)
Bot filtering
Works without Workspace Business
How tracked links work
When you publish a Google Doc through HummingDeck, you get a tracked link. Every person who opens that link generates engagement data: which pages they viewed, how long they spent, and whether they came back.
Personal links
Create a link for a specific person or company. You see their name, engagement, and when more viewers show up than you sent it to. Each recipient gets their own link, so you know exactly who did what.
Lead Magnet links
Share your document publicly and collect emails. Anyone who wants to view it enters their email first. You get a list of engaged leads with full per-page analytics.
Learn more about Lead Magnets →Deal Rooms
Group multiple documents into a branded room for a prospect or client. Track engagement across all materials in one place.
Learn more about Deal Rooms →Get started in 3 steps
Install the add-on and connect your account
Install HummingDeck from the Google Workspace Marketplace. Open Google Docs, click the add-on in the sidebar, and connect your HummingDeck account. Takes under a minute.
Publish your document
Set your Google Doc to 'Anyone with the link can view', then click Publish in the add-on. HummingDeck uploads and converts your document to a tracked viewer. Your original file stays in Google Drive.
Share the link, track engagement on HummingDeck
Share the tracked link via email, Slack, LinkedIn, or anywhere. View engagement data in your HummingDeck dashboard: who viewed, which pages, how long, unique viewers, return visits.
The tracked link is separate from your Google Docs file. You choose which to share depending on whether you want analytics.
Real-time alerts when someone views your document
Get a Slack message or email the moment someone opens your document. The alert includes who opened it, how long they spent, and which pages they viewed.
No dashboard to keep open.
Who uses this
Sales teams
Send a proposal or SOW to a prospect. Know if they read the pricing section. See when new viewers from procurement show up. Time your follow-up based on real engagement.
Learn more
Agencies
Share a brief or strategy document with a client. Track which sections they reviewed before the call so you know what to focus on.
Founders raising capital
Send your one-pager or investment memo. See which investors actually read it, how far they got, and whether they came back.
Legal and HR teams
Share contracts, offer letters, or policy documents. See which sections the recipient spent time on and whether they reviewed the entire document.
The same add-on also works in Google Slides. Track who viewed your Google Slides
Frequently asked questions
Can I track who viewed my Google Doc without the Activity Dashboard?
Does this work with personal Gmail accounts?
Do viewers need to install anything?
Does my Google Doc need to be public?
Can I still use the original Google Docs link?
Is it free?
See who actually reads your documents
Activity Dashboard shows you who opened. HummingDeck shows you who read.