Set up Session replay consent opt-in

Session Replay consent opt-in lets you require explicit visitor consent before Session Replay starts, without affecting behavioral analytics collection. When enabled on your project, the tracking tag collecting clicks, scrolls, and page journeys remains unchanged, but does not start Session Replay until the visitor grants consent. 

This feature is suited to customers in regulated industries or markets where explicit consent for session replay is required, such as finance, healthcare, public sector, or markets with strict data protection and consent regulations. It removes the need to rely on the optout command, which stops all visitor data collected by Contentsquare, including analytics.

Before you begin

• Session Replay consent opt-in must be enabled on your project: contact your CSM to request activation.
• You are responsible for implementing a consent interface on your site. Contentsquare does not provide a consent management platform (CMP) or consent pop-up.
• Consent is session-scoped: it resets at the start of each new session. Visitors must re-express consent each session.There is no cross-session persistence.
• Granting consent does not guarantee a replay will be collected. Session Replay only starts if your project's sampling quota allows it.
• If the optout command is also active on your project, it takes precedence. A visitor who has opted out via optout will not be tracked regardless of their Session Replay consent state.

Step-by-step setup

Step 1: Implement your consent interface

Your consent interface should display when the visitor has not yet made a consent decision (NOT_EXPRESSED state). Use the afterPageView command to check the visitor's consent state and trigger your interface.
 

Option A: Display the consent interface on every page view until consent is expressed

window._uxa = window._uxa || [];
window._uxa.push(['afterPageView', callback]);

function callback(context) {
  if (context.recordingConsentState === 2) { // NOT_EXPRESSED
    displayConsentPopUp();
  }
}

Option B: Display the consent interface only on the first page view of the session:

window._uxa = window._uxa || [];
window._uxa.push(['afterPageView', callback]);

function callback(context) {
  if (context.recordingConsentState === 2 && context.pageNumber === 1) {
    displayConsentPopUp();
  }
}

If you already use a CMP such as OneTrust, Axeptio, or Cookiebot, you can connect the Contentsquare commands directly to your existing consent event handlers instead of displaying a separate pop-up.

The possible consent state values are:

Step 2: Grant consent

When the visitor accepts Session Replay  in your consent interface, push the following command:

window._uxa = window._uxa || [];
window._uxa.push(["replay:consent:startForSession:granted"]);

The consent state transitions to GRANTED. Session Replay starts for the current session, subject to your sampling quota.

Step 3: Withdraw consent

When the visitor declines or withdraws consent, push the following command:
 

window._uxa = window._uxa || [];
window._uxa.push(["replay:consent:startForSession:withdrawn"]);

The consent state transitions to WITHDRAWN. If a replay was already in progress, it stops immediately.

Testing the implementation

1. Open your site in a browser with the Contentsquare tracking tag active.
2. Open the browser developer console and check the recordingConsentState value returned in the afterPageView callback. Before any interaction with your consent interface, it should be 2 (NOT_EXPRESSED)
3. Grant consent through your consent interface. The state should transition to 4 (GRANTED).
4. In Console, confirm that Session Replay sessions are being collected for this project.
    

What to read next

• Data collection FAQ
• Cookieless Experience Analytics