User Replay

back to glossary
What is user replay or session replay?

User replay—also known as user session replay, experience viewing, and session playback—is a recording of a user’s experience and interactions on a website or application. Like recorded videos, user replays capture exactly (or almost exactly) how each user navigated through a digital product, including clicks, typing, swiping, tapping, scrolling, and cursor movements. Tealeaf was one of the first tools to incorporate session replay technology, though largely for a technical audience, such as IT. Today, teams across the organization use session replay technology to monitor and improve the user experience on customer-facing and employing-facing applications across a company’s digital portfolio, including across devices such as tablets, smartphones, and desktop computers. With the help of user replay tools, teams can identify conversion-blocking problems that are related to UX design flaws, as well as technical errors and bugs. While tools such as Google Analytics and Adobe can help teams to identify where a conversion drop occurred, they do not provide insights into why the drop occurred. User replay tools, on the other hand, help teams to quickly validate issues with macro and micro conversions. For example, watching a user replay can reveal hard-to-find moments of customer friction, such as a button that isn’t working properly or a confusing form. Some user replay tools enable co-browsing with customers, which allows support agents to view a customer’s experience as they’re browsing. Advanced user replay tools tend to come with additional features to monitor and analyze data, including segmentation tools and advanced machine learning technology. For instance, many platforms allow you to watch session replays and analyze crucial behavioral, technical, and business data using anomaly detection technology, machine learning, and AI. In general, session replay tools record basic web pages built in HTML and CSS, as well as CSS animations, audio and video built in HTML5, web components, and more. Most session replay tools, however, can’t record things like Flash, Java, Silverlight, and other plugs. User replay technology can record sessions across a company’s digital portfolio, including across devices such as tablets, smartphones, and desktop computers.

What are the benefits of user replay technology?

Best of breed replay and session replay tools can help companies:

  • Reduce customer friction
  • Reduce mean time to identify and resolve (MTTI/MTTR)
  • Increase conversion rate
  • Address customer needs faster
  • Develop, iterate, and enhance digital products
  • Empathize with customers
Who uses user replay technology?

Session replay technology can benefit a number of teams across an enterprise, including executives, product, UX design & research, IT/operations, development, marketing, engineering, customer support, customer experience specialists, and others. Voice of Customer and CX specialists also use user replay technology to accomplish things like clicking from a user into session replay to visualize the experience described in a verbatim.

What is a Document Object Model (DOM)?

User replays record what happens in the Document Object Model, or DOM, which is a programming API for HTML and XML documents. Some advanced session replay tools access the DOM and play back a user’s interactions with the DOM. Because of this, a number of user replay tools make it possible to replay the entire client-side experience as you would a YouTube video.

User replay privacy and security challenges

While session replay technology greatly benefits a number of teams across enterprise organizations, some critics have expressed concerns that session replay technology can potentially expose sensitive personal information. That said, some older replay tools have a bad reputation because they didn’t use encryption technology and thus captured sensitive, device-level information, such as credit card details. The first session replay tools covered up sensitive information through masking, a less secure measure that involves censoring private information with a black line. The new generation of session replay technology tackles the privacy challenge by incorporating encryption. For example, Quantum Metric’s uniquely secure data capture method, device-level encryption, ensures that any personal information is encrypted and secured. Sensitive data is encrypted on each user’s device, so data is always secured when it is sent and stored.

What are some user replay tools and software?

Enterprise teams can choose from a number of platforms that offer user replay tools and technology, including:

  • Quantum Metric
  • Splunk
  • FullStory
  • Dynatrace
  • Acoustic Experience Analytics (formerly IBM Tealeaf)
  • Hotjar
  • Mouseflow
  • Contentsquare (Clicktale)
  • Glassbox
  • UserReplay
  • Lucky Orange
  • Inspectlet
  • SessionCam

Session replay tools can be deployed on-premise, on cloud, or on a on-premise/cloud hybrid.

LoginGet a demo

Platform

Platform overviewFelix AI AgenticFelix AI SummarizationJourneysMobile app analyticsInteraction heatmapsSecurity & privacy

Industries

RetailFinancial servicesTravel & hospitalityTelcoGamingHealthcare

Teams

ProductTechnologyMarketingAnalyticsCX & VoCUXService & support

Solutions

Digital analyticsProduct analyticsExperience analyticsJourney analyticsWeb analyticsEmployee experienceContact centerAI Detection

Resources

Contact usProduct tour libraryPricing plansResourcesCase studies
Privacy PolicyTerm of UseEULAPatentsAffiliatesLegal InformationModern Slavery Statement

© 2025 Quantum Metric, Inc. All rights reserved.

PlatformUse CasesPricing PlansResourcesCompany
LoginGet a demo

Platform

Coffee image

Platform overview

Learn more about Quantum Metric.

Data

Session replayUnderstand the "why" behind customer behaviors. Segment builderSlice your audience with nested segment building. AutocaptureCapture over 300 metrics out-of-the-box.Page performanceDiscover and quantify the impact of slow pages. User analyticsUnlock better user adoption, retention, and customer journeys.Platform intelligenceOur powerful machine learning engine.Mobile app analyticsPatented mobile analytics technology.

Insights

Felix AI AgenticAutonomous agents analyze every part of the customer journey.Felix AI SummarizationGen AI powered session summarization.JourneysUnderstand which paths customers are taking.Interaction heatmapsVisualize page-level clicks, scrolls, and attention.VisibleVisualize user behavior directly from your browser. DashboardsOrganize and monitor your most important data. Dashboard template libraryTemplates to improve your experience. Opportunity analysisAutomatically surface and quantify friction points.

Action

Monitoring & alertsAlerting on aggregate behavior, frustration, and more.Data activationSeamlessly merge any data source.Data streamingSend Quantum Metric insights to your data warehouse.Data enrichmentGet greater impact with enhanced data insights.Salesforce Lightning analyticsGain visibility and understanding of Salesforce Lightning app users.Performance & overheadLightweight SDKs and tags.Security & privacyBest in class security technology and polices.

See for yourself.

Schedule a personalized discussion and walkthrough of our solution.

Talk to our team.

Schedule a personalized discussion and walkthrough of our solution.

Join a regularly streamed demo of our top features and use cases.

Watch a live demo.

Join a regularly streamed demo of our top features and use cases.

Review platform use cases and capabilities at your own pace.

Browse product tours.

Review platform use cases and capabilities at your own pace.

Use Cases

Industries

RetailUnderstand shoppers’ needs faster.Financial servicesDrive digital adoption and improve satisfaction.Travel & hospitalityGrow revenue and loyalty with real-time visibility.TelcoImprove the digital-first experience.GamingUnderstand real-time player behavior.HealthcareImprove patient self-service and loyalty.

Teams

ProductUnderstand any part of the digital experience in seconds.TechnologySurface and scope customer technical friction in real-time.MarketingStrengthen your campaigns and convert more.AnalyticsAnswer the “why” behind the customer experience.CX & VoCBring together qualitative and quantitative insights.UXDeep insight into behavior, engagement, and friction.Service & supportImprove customer empathy and contact center efficiency.

Solutions

Digital analyticsMonitor, diagnose, and optimize critical experiences.Product analyticsUnderstand user behavior and drive adoption.Experience analyticsSurface pain points and quantify opportunities.Journey analyticsInsights into every touchpoint across the digital journey.Web analyticsUnderstand and report on digital performance.Employee experienceAutomatically surface critical friction on your internal apps and kiosks.Contact centerOptimize contact center experiences.AI DetectionReveal how AI agents interact with your digital experience.

Explore dashboard templates.

Gain instant insight into your digital experience with pre-designed dashboard templates.

Gain instant insight into your digital experience with pre-designed dashboard templates.

Skip the setup, start analyzing.

See template library

Resources

Learn

ResourcesReview expert guidance and new data. Case studiesDiscover our customer stories.Product tour libraryReview platform use cases and capabilities at your own pace. Events & webinarsJoin us for live or virtual events. BenchmarksReview the top findings from Quantum Metric aggregated platform data.BlogThought leadership, trends, and product insights.Continuous Product DesignThe approach to building better products faster.

Community

The QuadConnect with experts, converse, and be inspired.

New blog post.

Turn data into understanding with the ‘why.’

Turn data into understanding with the ‘why.’

Quantum Metric's CEO explores how the Quantified Why drives decisions and efficiency in the enterprise.

Read the blog

Company

About us

Our storyHow Quantum Metric started, our leadership team, and how you can get involved.CareersSee what it's like to work for Quantum Metric, and available positions.NewsRead the latest announcements and news.

Partner network

Partners & integrationsView our technology and solutions partners.Partner programOur key ecosystem of partners.

Latest news.

Quantum Metric simplifies digital analytics with Spring 2025 Product Launch.

Quantum Metric simplifies digital analytics with Spring 2025 Product Launch.

Learn more