Session recording, often called session replay, captures a visitor's interactions with a page, such as mouse movements, clicks, taps, scrolling and page changes, and lets you watch them back as a video-like reconstruction. Most tools rebuild the session from recorded page changes and events rather than filming the screen. Recordings show the specific moments where visitors hesitate, get stuck or give up.
What to look for
Watching random sessions is slow. Filter for sessions that matter: visitors who reached a form but did not submit it, sessions with rage clicks or errors, or visitors from a specific campaign. Patterns that repeat across several sessions are worth acting on.
- Repeated clicks on something that does not respond.
- Long pauses on a form field or pricing section.
- Back-and-forth scrolling that suggests visitors cannot find something.
- Errors, broken layouts or elements that never load.
- Exits right after a specific step.
Privacy and consent
Session recordings can capture personal data if not configured carefully. Reputable tools mask text inputs by default and let you mask further elements. Disclose recordings in your privacy policy, follow consent rules in jurisdictions that require opt-in, and avoid recording logged-in areas that show sensitive customer data unless your agreements and controls allow it.
Pairing with other research
Recordings show what people did but not why. Combine them with on-page surveys, user tests and support tickets to understand motives. Heatmaps summarize many sessions; recordings show individual journeys, so use heatmaps to find where to look and recordings to see what happens there.
Example
A date picker that blocks signups
Hypothetical booking platform Dunmore Lark filters recordings to visitors who abandoned its demo request form. Several sessions show people on mobile tapping a date picker that opens off-screen. Fixing the component is a bug fix, not a test, and form completion is tracked before and after.
Common mistakes
Recording sensitive data
Unmasked inputs can capture emails, payment details or health information. Check masking settings before going live.
Generalizing from one session
One visitor's strange behavior may be a one-off. Look for the same issue across several recordings before redesigning.
Questions
Not directly. They can affect performance if the script is heavy, so load it asynchronously and monitor Core Web Vitals.
