A session replay is a recreation of a user’s journey on a website or app.<\/p>
It captures everything they do\u2014mouse movements, clicks, scrolls, page views, and more like a movie. This allows you to easily understand user behavior<\/a> and see exactly how they interact with your platform.<\/p> You’ll often hear “session replay” and “session recording” used interchangeably. And honestly, most analytics tools use them that way, too. But technically, there’s a slight difference.<\/p> Session recordings capture everything that happens on a user’s screen, similar to a video recording of their browser window or app.<\/p> Conversely, session replays don’t actually<\/em> record a user’s screen in the traditional sense. Replay tools use the Document Object Model (DOM) to capture and reconstruct user experiences<\/a>.<\/p> Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Most tools that offer this feature, like Mixpanel, Heap, and PostHog, primarily use DOM capturing, even if they call it “session recording.” So, don’t get too hung up on the labels.<\/p> The next section will cover more details on the DOM and how these tools function.<\/p> At a high level, session replay works by capturing and reconstructing user interactions on a website or app.<\/p> Every website or app is built with code that determines its structure, appearance, and how it responds to user actions. Engineers call this the Document Object Model, or DOM for short.<\/p> The DOM is modified each time a user clicks<\/a>, scrolls, fills out forms, or performs any other task on your platform.<\/p> How do session replay tools<\/a> come in? They simply install a small piece of code (aka “script”) that runs in the background and captures the before and after of all these DOM mutations.<\/p> Beyond just DOM changes, these tools also track a wide range of user events<\/a>, like:<\/p> Session replay tools then combine all this data to create movie-like playbacks of user sessions.<\/p> Now<\/strong>, you might be thinking, “What about sensitive data like passwords or credit card numbers?” That’s a valid concern. Rest assured, most reputable session replay platforms have privacy features that do at least two things:<\/p> Userpilot <\/a>is a product growth tool that helps SaaS teams deliver an engaging customer experience that drives satisfaction and retention.<\/p> Building on this commitment, we’ve released new analytics features<\/a> and improved some of our existing features this year. For example, you can now utilize our platform to generate analytics reports, track specific customer profiles, auto-track user events, and create custom dashboards to visualize your key metrics.<\/p> Here\u2019s why we added session replays:<\/p> We realized that even with these powerful features, something was missing. To truly understand the user experience, you need to see it firsthand. That’s why we went a step further and released a session replay feature that works in harmony with other functionalities.<\/p> As an example, you can visit the user profile<\/a> feature and click on \u201csession\u201d (as in the first image) to view all the interactions that particular users have had with your tool.<\/p> Among other benefits, this is useful for optimizing customer support<\/a>. Instead of going back and forth with users, asking for screenshots, and still getting confused about their issues, you can ask for the date the problem happened and watch that session.<\/p> We’ve seen this play out throughout our beta testing.<\/p> After redesigning their navigation, Anna Sobiak’s team at Cleeng<\/a> used Userpilot’s session replays to see exactly what users clicked and confirm if they were landing on the intended pages:<\/p> Another key reason we built session replay into Userpilot<\/a> was to address the growing complexity of our customers’ tech stacks. We found that many product teams<\/a> were spending more on analytics and session recording tools by using separate solutions.<\/p> With Userpilot, you can consolidate your tech stack, create simpler workflows, reduce complexity, and improve team collaboration. Essentially, you\u2019ll save time and money while gaining a more holistic view of customer behavior<\/a>.<\/p> For instance, instead of using one tool to track when users click a ‘sign-up’<\/strong> button and then integrating with another platform to watch those sessions, Userpilot <\/a>lets you do it all in one place, no more integration headaches or context switching. Everything you need is right at your fingertips.<\/p> Finally, we recognized that many session replay tools require technical expertise or coding knowledge, making them inaccessible to some teams. That’s why we designed Userpilot to be 100% code-free.<\/p> Anyone on your team can set up and use session replays without writing a single line of code. This means you can start collecting valuable insights<\/a> right away without needing to involve developers or invest in costly integrations.<\/p> User privacy is covered as well! By default, our platform masks sensitive data and excludes it from recordings.<\/p> Session replay tools can be used in countless ways to improve your product<\/a>, enhance customer support, and boost business goals. Here are just a few examples:<\/p> These aren’t hypothetical scenarios. Here’s what Romain M. had to say after using session replays for his product team:<\/p> Session replay is most valuable when quantitative analytics show what is happening, but not why. It\u2019s particularly useful during onboarding optimization, bug investigation, usability testing, and conversion analysis, where seeing real interactions provides context that metrics alone can\u2019t capture.<\/p> It is also the go-to solution when your team needs to cut through the noise of vague user feedback. If customers are reporting that a feature “just isn’t working” but can’t provide screenshots, a session replay allows support teams to bypass the back-and-forth and instantly view the exact moment friction occurred.<\/p> Similarly, after rolling out a new UI design, replays let you immediately validate if specific segments, like power users versus new sign-ups, are navigating the interface as intended or getting lost in the new layout.<\/p> When choosing a session replay tool, you want to ensure it has all or most of the following features:<\/p> Session replays are like a magnifying glass, allowing you to zoom in on user behavior. But to truly understand the big picture, you need to combine these replays with insights from other forms of user analytics.<\/p>Session replays vs. session recordings<\/strong><\/h3>
How session replay tools work<\/strong><\/h2>
Why Userpilot built session replays<\/strong><\/h2>
Improve user understanding<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"user-session-tracking-Userpilot\"](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_f1f2bebd49c758be176109696459cf5c_800.png)
<\/picture>![\"user](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/user-review-of-userpilot-session-replay.png\")
Help users save costs<\/strong><\/h3>
Offer a no-code option<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"session-replay-Userpilot\"](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/user-recording-1_f6a56ec05b25e5867ac40e0d895dafcb_800.png)
<\/picture>What you can do with Userpilot’s session replay<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"analzying-user-behavior-UX-improvement\"](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/screenshot-2024-11-12-at-221626_840b1777cab13aaf75849e8a8fa34817_800.png)
<\/picture>![\"userpilot](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/userpilot-session-replay-g2-reviews.png\")
When should you use session replay?<\/h2>
Features to look for in session replay software<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Session-replay-With-filters\"](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/session-recordings-with-filters-1_25b339ad8a9fc89d93a6076714bd6158_800.png)
<\/picture>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>