Session replay privacy and masking

When you finish, you know what a recording shows, how to change it on your own pages, and what to add to your privacy policy.

What is masked by default

Content	Default
Text on the page	Readable, except inside an element marked `data-dl-mask`.
Input, textarea, and select values, including password and hidden fields	Masked, always
Text in the `alt`, `title`, `placeholder`, and `aria-label` attributes	Readable. Use `data-dl-block` on an element whose attributes can hold personal data.
Page URLs	Stored without the query string or fragment
URLs inside the page, such as link `href` and image `src`	Recorded as written, including the query string
`track()` calls	Event name, value, currency, and product IDs only
Canvas, cross-origin iframes, and fonts	Not recorded

Masking happens in the visitor’s browser. Masked text never reaches Datalyr.

Choose how much text is masked

The Privacy section of Replay settings, on the Replays page, sets the text mode for replay and heatmaps together. New sessions use it on their next page load. Sessions already recorded keep the masking they were recorded with.

Mode	What a recording shows
Marked only (default)	All page text. Only elements you mark `data-dl-mask` are masked.
Standard	Text inside buttons, links, labels, `summary` elements, and `[role=button]` elements. Everything else shows as `*`.
Strict	Only elements you mark `data-dl-unmask`. Button, link, and label text is masked too.

Input values are masked in every mode. Pick Standard or Strict when a page can show a visitor’s own data in places you can’t mark, such as a signed-in account area.

Change masking on your pages

Add one of these attributes to an HTML element. It applies to the element and everything inside it.

Attribute	Effect
`data-dl-mask`	Masks the text, including button, link, and label text
`data-dl-unmask`	Shows the text. Input values stay masked.
`data-dl-block`	Removes the element from the recording. Playback shows an empty box of the same size.

<!-- Order total: readable in replays -->
<div data-dl-unmask>Subtotal £42.00</div>

<!-- A button that shows the customer's name: masked -->
<button data-dl-mask>Hi, Sam</button>

<!-- Account panel: left out of the recording entirely -->
<section data-dl-block>...</section>

data-dl-mask wins over data-dl-unmask when both apply to the same text.

data-dl-unmask shows the text inside it to anyone in your workspace. Don’t put it on an element that can hold a name, an email address, an address, or an order number.

Turn off replay on one site

If one site shares a workspace but must never be recorded, pass replay: false to init(). It keeps replay off on that site, whatever the dashboard says.

datalyr.init({ workspaceId: 'YOUR_WORKSPACE_ID', replay: false })

init() can only turn replay off. Only the dashboard turns it on.

Signals that stop recording

The recorder starts only when every row below allows it. If a signal changes during a visit, recording stops and unsent data is discarded.

Signal	Effect on replay
`optOut()`	Stops recording
`setConsent()` with `analytics: false` or `marketing: false`	Stops recording
Shopify Customer Privacy: analytics or marketing declined	Stops recording
Do Not Track	Stops recording, even if `respectDoNotTrack` is `false`
Global Privacy Control	Stops recording, even if `respectGlobalPrivacyControl` is `false`
`privacyMode: 'strict'`	Stops recording
Health or wellness workspace	Session replay can’t be turned on

See Privacy and redaction for how each signal affects tracking in general.

Shopify checkout

Shopify checkout pages are never recorded. Shopify runs checkout in a sandbox that no storefront script can see into. A recording ends when the visitor starts checkout, so payment and address fields never appear in a replay.

Add a line to your privacy policy

Session replay records how visitors use your site. Tell them. You can adapt this sentence:

We use Datalyr to record how visitors interact with our website, such as clicks, scrolling, and the pages they view, so we can find and fix problems. Text you type is always masked before it leaves your browser, and other page text is masked according to our settings. Recordings are kept for 30 days. We don’t record visitors who decline analytics or marketing cookies, or whose browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control.

If you use Heatmaps without Session replay, use this sentence instead:

We use Datalyr to measure where visitors click and how far they scroll on our website, so we can find and fix problems. Text you type is always masked before it leaves your browser, other page text is masked according to our settings, and no recordings are made. Click and scroll data is kept for 90 days. We don’t measure visitors who decline analytics or marketing cookies, or whose browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control.

Both sentences are a starting point, not legal advice. Check them with your own adviser before you publish them.

What to tell visitors who ask

Question	Answer
Can you see what I typed?	No. Every form value is masked in the browser.
Can you see my card details?	No. On Shopify, checkout is never recorded.
How do I stop it?	Decline analytics or marketing cookies, or turn on Global Privacy Control in the browser.
How long do you keep it?	Recordings: 30 days. Written summaries: 2 years. Heatmap data: 90 days.
Can you delete my recording?	Recordings expire after 30 days. For an earlier deletion, contact [email protected] with the visitor’s `distinct id`.

Verify

Turn on session replay. See Session replay.
Visit a page that holds a form.
Type into a field.
Wait about 35 minutes.
Open the session on Replays.
Confirm the field value shows as * characters.
Confirm any element you marked data-dl-block shows as an empty box.

When it does not work

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Text you need is masked	The text mode is Standard or Strict, or the element is under `data-dl-mask`.	Switch the mode in Replay settings, or add `data-dl-unmask` to the element.
Private text is readable	The text mode is Marked only and the element is not marked, or it sits under `data-dl-unmask`.	Add `data-dl-mask` to the element, or switch to Standard.
A widget still shows	The attribute is on a parent the widget renders outside of.	Put `data-dl-block` on the widget’s own root element.

Session replay: pricing, retention, and asking the agent.
Privacy and redaction: consent and opt-out for all tracking.

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Session replay privacy and masking

What is masked by default

Choose how much text is masked

Change masking on your pages

Turn off replay on one site

Signals that stop recording

Shopify checkout

Add a line to your privacy policy

What to tell visitors who ask

Verify

When it does not work

Next

​What is masked by default

​Choose how much text is masked

​Change masking on your pages

​Turn off replay on one site

​Signals that stop recording

​Shopify checkout

​Add a line to your privacy policy

​What to tell visitors who ask

​Verify

​When it does not work

​Next

What is masked by default

Choose how much text is masked

Change masking on your pages

Turn off replay on one site

Signals that stop recording

Shopify checkout

Add a line to your privacy policy

What to tell visitors who ask

Verify

When it does not work

Next