What session recordings are used for
- Finding where visitors get stuck, hesitate or give up, for example in a form or a checkout
- Spotting bugs, and elements that look clickable but aren’t (“rage clicks” and “dead clicks”)
- Understanding numbers in analytics, such as a high exit rate on one page
- Getting ideas for A/B tests and conversion rate optimization
Tools
Popular tools include Microsoft Clarity (free), Hotjar, FullStory and Mouseflow. Most also offer heatmaps.
Privacy
Recordings must hide personal data such as passwords, card numbers and form entries. In the EU and UK, session recording usually needs the visitor’s consent, so load the tool through your cookie consent banner and mention it in your privacy policy.
Session recording example
A company sees that many visitors start its contact form but few finish. Recordings of ten sessions show that people type their phone number, get an error because of the format and give up. The company allows spaces and plus signs in the field and explains the format in the label. Form completion rises the following week.
How to review recordings efficiently
- Pick a goal, such as checkout completion, and filter recordings for visits that did not reach it.
- Watch 10 to 20 sessions on one page or flow.
- Note repeated problems: rage clicks, dead clicks, back-and-forth scrolling and errors.
- Combine what you see with the numbers in analytics.
- Fix the biggest problem first and check recordings again.
Privacy and session recording
- Mask input fields such as passwords, payments and personal data.
- Get consent where the law requires it, and mention recording in your privacy policy.
- Limit who can view recordings and how long they are kept.
Session recording FAQs
Are session recordings legal?
They can be, if you follow privacy rules such as consent and data minimisation. Check with a professional in your country. See heat maps and click maps.
Which tools are there?
Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar and others. See conversion rate optimization and eye tracking.