Session Replay Issues

Fix issues when session recordings aren't being captured or won't play back correctly.

Session replay is configured per website, on the Advanced settings tab for that domain. Open your website's dashboard, switch to its settings, and select Advanced — that's where the replay toggle, recording mode, and privacy controls live. You watch recordings on the website's Sessions tab.

Sessions Not Recording

Check Feature Enabled

1. Open your website's dashboard → settings → Advanced
2. Verify Session Replay is turned ON
3. Check your plan includes session replay (Pro and up)

Recording Mode

When Session Replay is on, a Recording Mode option appears below it:

• Errors only — records sessions where an error occurred (the default). This keeps bandwidth and storage down.
• All — records every session.

If you're not seeing recordings for ordinary visits, you're likely on Errors only. Switch to All if you want everything captured.

Page Coverage

Make sure the tracking script is installed on every page you expect to record:

• Homepage
• Product pages
• Checkout

A page without the script won't be recorded.

Privacy Settings

The privacy controls on the Advanced tab mask or remove content from recordings — they don't stop recording entirely:

• Mask inputs — input fields are masked by default
• Mask text content — replaces all visible text with placeholders
• Excluded routes — listed paths are not recorded at all

If recordings look heavily redacted or certain pages never appear, check these settings.

No Sessions Appearing

Wait for Processing

New sessions take a few minutes to appear:

1. Record a test session
2. End the session (close the tab)
3. Wait a few minutes
4. Refresh the Sessions tab

Check Filters

Remove filters that might hide sessions:

1. Clear all filters
2. Set the date range to "Today"
3. Check if sessions appear

Very Short Sessions

Sessions with no meaningful activity may not produce a useful recording. Recording pauses after a few seconds of inactivity, so a visit that loads and leaves immediately may show little or nothing.

Playback Issues

Session Won't Play

Blank screen:

• Session still processing
• Wait and retry

Loading forever:

• Large session, slow connection
• Try a shorter session first

Error message:

• Session data corrupted
• Try a different session

Video Quality Poor

Reduce network load:

1. Lower playback speed
2. Skip to important parts
3. Check your connection

Actions Not Visible

Some elements may not record:

• Canvas/WebGL content
• Video players
• Certain iframes
• Password fields (always masked)

Missing Page Content

Styles Not Loading

Session replays fetch the original CSS. If styles changed since the recording:

• Replay shows current styles
• Layout may differ from recording time
• This is expected behavior

Images Not Showing

Images from external sources may:

• Be blocked by CORS
• Have expired
• Have been deleted

Dynamic Content Different

JavaScript-rendered content:

• Replays capture DOM state
• Some dynamic content may differ
• Interactive elements are frozen

Performance During Playback

Playback Laggy

Try:

1. Pause and let it buffer
2. Reduce playback speed
3. Skip idle time

Browser Crashing

Large sessions may cause issues:

1. Try incognito mode
2. Close other tabs
3. Use Chrome (best performance)

Recording Quality Issues

Scrolling Not Smooth

Normal — scrolling is throttled and recorded at intervals, not continuously.

Form Input Not Visible

By default, input is masked:

• Text fields show placeholders
• This is privacy protection
• You can show non-sensitive inputs by adjusting Mask inputs on the Advanced tab (passwords are always masked)

Privacy Blocking

Elements Not Recording

The tracker honors a few opt-out hooks you can add to your own markup. Add the data-private attribute to keep an element out of the recording:

<!-- This element is blocked from the recording -->
<div data-private>
  Sensitive content
</div>

You can also use CSS classes for finer control:

• zenovay-block-replay — element is removed from the recording
• zenovay-mask-replay — element's text is masked
• zenovay-ignore-replay — element's changes are ignored

Entire Pages Excluded

A path listed under Excluded routes is never recorded:

1. Open your website's dashboard → settings → Advanced
2. Check Excluded routes in the privacy section
3. Remove any path you didn't mean to exclude

Visitor Opted Out

If a visitor has opted out of tracking, their sessions won't record. Zenovay also honors the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal.

Storage and Retention

Old Sessions Disappeared

Session replay data has its own retention period, separate from analytics data retention:

Plan	Session Replay Retention
Pro	60 days
Scale	120 days
Enterprise	180 days

Recordings older than your plan's window are removed automatically.

Watch Your Usage

Session replay is bandwidth- and storage-heavy. If you're producing more recordings than you need, switch Recording Mode to Errors only, or use Excluded routes to skip noisy paths. You can track your overall plan usage under Settings → Usage.

Third-Party Content

Iframes Not Recording

Cross-origin iframes:

• Cannot be recorded
• Show a placeholder
• External content is protected

Third-Party Widgets

Chat widgets, embedded forms, etc.:

• May not record fully
• Depends on implementation
• Some show a placeholder

Mobile Session Issues

Mobile Sessions Not Recording

Mobile web recording is supported but:

• Touch events are recorded
• Some gestures may not show

App WebView Issues

WebViews may have:

• A different JavaScript environment
• A modified DOM
• Recording limitations

Debugging Recording

Test Recording

1. Open your site
2. Open the console (F12)
3. Check that the tracker is loaded:

console.log('Zenovay loaded:', typeof window.zenovay === 'function');

Note: There is no public method to check recording status. Recording is controlled from the website's Advanced settings tab.

Enable Debug Mode

Add data-debug="true" to the tracking snippet to enable console logging:

<script
  defer
  data-tracking-code="YOUR_TRACKING_CODE"
  data-debug="true"
  src="https://api.zenovay.com/z.js">
</script>

Check the browser console for log messages. Session recording itself is still controlled from the website's Advanced settings tab.

Common Solutions

Not Recording At All

1. Verify you're on Pro or higher
2. Turn on Session Replay on the website's Advanced settings tab
3. Set Recording Mode to All if you want every session captured
4. Make sure the page isn't listed under Excluded routes
5. Clear cache, refresh

Playback Issues

1. Wait for processing
2. Try a different browser
3. Check for errors
4. Try a shorter session

Quality Issues

1. Accept some limitations
2. Focus on key interactions
3. Use with heatmaps for the full picture

Contacting Support

Provide:

1. Session ID (if available)
2. Browser and version
3. Recording or playback issue
4. Recording Mode setting
5. Console errors

Next Steps

• Session Replay Overview
• Session Privacy
• Heatmap Issues