Session Replay lets you watch recordings of real user sessions on your website. See exactly what visitors see, where they click, and how they navigate.
What Is Session Replay?
Session Replay records visitor interactions on your website:
| Captured | Description |
|---|---|
| Page content | What the visitor saw |
| Mouse movements | Cursor path and hover |
| Clicks | Where users clicked |
| Scrolling | Scroll depth and speed |
| Form inputs | Fields focused (not values) |
| Errors | JavaScript errors encountered |
Why Use Session Replay?
Understand User Behavior
See the visitor's perspective:
- What caught their attention
- Where they got confused
- Why they abandoned checkout
- How they navigate your site
Debug Issues
Watch problems happen:
- Reproduce user-reported bugs
- See errors in context
- Identify UX friction points
- Find broken features
Improve Conversions
Learn what works:
- Study successful conversions
- Compare to abandoning users
- Test hypothesis with real behavior
- Validate A/B test results
Key Features
Complete Session Recording
Every session is captured:
- Full page rendering
- Dynamic content changes
- Single-page app navigation
- Responsive breakpoint changes
Smart Playback
Efficient replay controls:
- Skip inactive periods
- Speed up slow parts
- Jump to specific events
- Share timestamps
Privacy First
User privacy protected:
- Sensitive data masked
- GDPR compliant
- Configurable privacy
- No passwords captured
Session Replay vs. Heatmaps
| Feature | Session Replay | Heatmaps |
|---|---|---|
| View type | Individual sessions | Aggregate data |
| Detail level | Every action | Click/scroll patterns |
| Use case | Debug, understand flow | Optimize layout |
| Data volume | One session at a time | All sessions combined |
Use both for complete insight:
- Heatmaps: "Where do users click most?"
- Sessions: "Why did this user not convert?"
Plan Comparison
| Feature | Pro | Scale | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session recording | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Retention | 60 days | 120 days | 180 days |
| Heatmaps | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rage click detection | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Error linking | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom events | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| API access | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Download sessions | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
Getting Started
Enable Session Replay
Session Replay is included with Pro plans:
- Go to your domain dashboard → Sessions tab
- Toggle "Enable Recording"
- Configure privacy settings
- Save changes
No Code Changes Needed
If you already have Zenovay tracking:
- Recordings start automatically
- Same script handles replay
- No additional installation
First Recording
After enabling:
- Wait for site traffic
- Sessions appear within minutes
- Review in Sessions tab
What Gets Recorded
Captured Elements
| Element | Recorded | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Page layout | ✓ | Full DOM snapshot |
| Images | ✓ | As displayed |
| CSS styles | ✓ | Computed styles |
| Animations | ✓ | CSS/JS animations |
| Videos | Placeholder | Privacy concern |
| Forms | Fields only | Values masked |
User Actions
| Action | Recorded |
|---|---|
| Mouse movement | ✓ |
| Clicks | ✓ |
| Scrolling | ✓ |
| Typing | Masked |
| Tab focus | ✓ |
| Copy/paste | Event only |
Not Recorded
For privacy and security:
- Password field content
- Credit card numbers
- Personal data in marked fields
- Clipboard contents
- File uploads content
Recording Workflow
How It Works
- Visitor loads page → Initial DOM snapshot
- User interacts → Changes captured as events
- Data sent → Compressed, privacy-filtered
- Stored securely → Encrypted at rest
- Available for playback → In Sessions tab
Performance Impact
Recording is lightweight:
- Minimal CPU overhead (<1%)
- Small bandwidth increase (~50KB per page)
- No visible lag to users
- Async data transmission
Viewing Sessions
Access Recordings
- Go to Analytics → Sessions
- Browse session list
- Click to play
- Use controls to navigate
Session List Shows
| Column | Information |
|---|---|
| Time | When session occurred |
| Duration | Session length |
| Pages | Page count |
| Country | Visitor location |
| Device | Desktop/Mobile/Tablet |
| Status | Active, Completed, Error |
Quick Filters
Pre-built filters:
- Recent sessions
- Long sessions (5+ min)
- Short sessions (<1 min)
- Sessions with errors
- Sessions with rage clicks
Privacy & Compliance
GDPR Compliant
Session Replay respects privacy:
- Configurable consent requirements
- Data masked by default
- User can request deletion
- Retention limits enforced
Data Masking
Automatic masking:
- Input field values
- Custom CSS selectors
- Specific page sections
- Third-party content
Learn More
See Session Storage & Privacy for details.