Error-session replay

Error-session replay shows what the shopper’s page looked like around an error. It is an optional module: off until a store owner turns it on, and recorded only in sessions where an error happens. Sessions without an error upload nothing.

Turn it on

Open Settings → Session replay and choose:

Sample rate: the share of sessions that keep a rolling recording buffer. Start at 100% on a small store; lower it on a busy one.
Masking: Mask all text and inputs (recommended) shows layout and interactions only. Mask inputs only keeps page text such as product names and prices visible. Form fields are always masked.

The recorder is a separate script, replay-v1.js, that loads only when replay is on, the session is sampled and the visitor allowed analytics. It never runs in cookieless mode.

What is recorded

The recorder keeps the last minute of masked page reconstruction in the shopper’s browser. Nothing leaves the browser while there is no error.
When a storefront error happens, it uploads that minute and keeps recording the rest of the session until the shopper is idle for 5 minutes, for up to 30 minutes.
When a recording ends, the recorder goes back to buffering. A later error in the same session starts a new recording.

Each browser tab records its own replay. Failed uploads are retried up to three times. Recording stops for the rest of a page or session when the collector rate-limits the store or the page changes its DOM so fast that recording would slow it down, and the replay says so.

Watch a replay

From an issue, the recommended occurrence is one with a replay when one exists. Playback opens 10 seconds before the error, with the error marked on the timeline.
From Sessions, a Replay badge marks sessions with a recording, and the Has a replay filter lists only those.
A session’s detail names the issues its replay recorded.

An error is linked to a replay when it happened inside the recording window, so every error during a recorded stretch has its replay, not just the first few.

Why an occurrence has no replay

The issue page states the reason instead of an empty player:

Reason	What it means
Replay was off	The store had not turned replay on at the time. Owners get a link to Settings.
Outside the sample rate	The session was not sampled. Raise the rate for more coverage.
Visitor did not allow analytics	Nothing was recorded, by design.
The recording had ended	The session’s recording stopped: rate limit or DOM mutation flood.
The recording did not reach us	The upload failed after retries, or the tab closed first.
Kept 30 days	The replay was older than the retention period.
Older storefront script	The error was captured before the store’s script reported replay state.

Check replay reach

The replay settings panel shows the last seven days: sessions that allowed analytics, cookieless sessions, consented sessions with an error, those with a replay, and those whose recorder ran but left no replay. Use it to see why a store has few replays. Consent is usually the largest factor.

Retention and privacy

Replays are stored privately for 30 days and deleted with the store’s data. Inputs are always masked. See Privacy and data collection for the full boundary.