Session Recording
A feature that captures and replays user interactions on a website or app to help teams understand user behavior, identify friction points, and debug issues.
Definition
Session recording captures video-like playback of individual user sessions, showing mouse movements, clicks, scrolls, and page navigation. Teams use recordings to understand user behavior, debug issues, and identify UX problems that analytics alone can’t reveal.
What Session Recordings Capture
- Mouse movements and clicks
- Scrolling behavior
- Form interactions (with sensitive fields masked)
- Page navigation and timing
- Console errors and network issues
When to Use Session Recordings
UX Research
Watch how users interact with new features. Identify confusion points and unexpected behaviors.
Bug Investigation
Reproduce user-reported issues by watching what actually happened. See the exact sequence of actions.
Conversion Optimization
Understand why users abandon forms or checkout flows. Find friction points.
Support Context
Review what a user did before contacting support. Faster resolution with full context.
Privacy Considerations
Session recording tools should:
- Mask sensitive form fields automatically
- Exclude password and payment inputs
- Respect do-not-track settings
- Allow user opt-out
- Comply with GDPR requirements
Tools for Session Recording
Behavior analytics platforms with session recording:
- Microsoft Clarity - Free unlimited recordings with rage click detection
- Hotjar - Recordings with heatmaps and surveys
- Smartlook - Mobile-first recordings for iOS and Android apps
- FullStory - AI-powered session analysis
- PostHog - Open-source with self-hosting option
See Clarity vs Hotjar for a comparison of free vs paid options.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many sessions should I watch?
Watch 20-30 sessions to identify common patterns. Focus on specific segments (users who churned, users who completed purchase) rather than random sampling.
Do session recordings slow down my site?
Modern tools use async loading with minimal performance impact. Most add 50-100ms to page load. Test your specific implementation to verify.
Are session recordings GDPR compliant?
They can be with proper implementation. Mask sensitive data, disclose recording in privacy policy, and provide opt-out options. Some tools offer EU data residency for compliance.