A quick plug for https://www.goatcounter.com/ - a super lightweight visitor counter. Very much privacy oriented (https://www.goatcounter.com/help/gdpr).

I've set it up on my blog a while ago (https://eli.thegreenplace.net/2023/using-goatcounter-for-blo...) and it's been working really well.

+1 for GoatCounter. I’ve been using it as well for a few years now, and I find it to be a good middle-ground between useful level of insight and respect for privacy. It’s very straightforward to self-host too.