Watch replays

Last updated: June 02, 2025 15:13

You can watch replays in Pendo’s replay library or from other parts of Pendo, such as funnels or details pages. This article explains how to open and play these replays, as well as how to navigate through the replay library and the player interface.

Note: Session Replay is a product available as an add-on to new or existing Pendo subscriptions. If you have access to Session Replay, you'll see the Replay option in the left-side menu. If you're interested in getting access, contact your Pendo account representative.

Open the replay library

After Session Replay is added to your subscription, the replay library is available for all Viewer roles in your subscription to access replays.

To open the replay library, select Replay > Library from the left-side menu. By default, this opens the Last 30 Days saved filter or the saved filter you most recently opened.

Apply filters

The Replays table displays up to 5,000 replays. Use the filters at the top of the page to refine the table results and find specific replays that match your criteria. For more on refining replays, see Filter replays.

View suggested replays

Suggested replays is the first table to display in the replay library, which provides insights paired with three to five related replays. Available insights include:

Error clicks. Displays the most error-clicked Feature in the selected date range and lists the number of error clicks during that period.
Rage clicks. Displays the most rage-clicked Feature in the selected date range and lists the number of rage clicks during that period.
Usage trending down. Displays Pages or Features with a significant decrease in views or clicks over the last seven days, including the percentage and number of views or clicks lost.
Usage trending up. Displays Pages or Features with a significant increase in views or clicks over the last seven days, including the percentage and number of views or clicks gained.

If there are no suggested insights related to your filtered event, we offer the top five most relevant replays to watch. Relevance is based on the total time visitors spent interacting with the events you filtered by, the percentage of activity within the replay, and the total duration of the replay.

Select Play suggested replays to open the queue of related replays in the replay player.

When you open the replay player, you can view any related insights derived from suggested replays within the Trends tab in the right-side panel. These insights are also available on clips saved from the replay.

From here, you can also choose to Explore trends by creating a funnel or Data Explorer report. For more information, see Generate a funnel report and Generate a Data Explorer report.

The filters you apply at the top of the page impact the suggested replays shown. For more information on this, see Filters in suggested replays.

Browse replays

All available replays are listed in the Replays table, which can display up to 5,000 replays. If more than 5,000 replays are available, the table count shows as 5,000+. You can apply filters to refine the table results and locate specific replays.

By default, the Replays table is sorted by Start time in descending order. To sort the table by a different column, select the corresponding column header. Selecting the same column header again switches the sort order from descending to ascending, and selecting it a third time removes the sorting for that column.

Reorder the columns as needed by selecting a column header and dragging it to your desired placement. Adjust the width of each column by selecting and dragging the vertical resizer located to the right of the column to your desired width. These modifications don't apply to the star or Play columns.

Tip: After you modify the table layout to your preference, create a saved filter to save the table and your filter selection as a custom view. For more information, see Filter replays.

The default columns in the Replays table and the default order of these columns is as follows:

Use the star icon in the first column to favorite replays. To view only favorited replays, select the star icon in the top filters. The 30-day expiration limit still applies to favorited replays.
The Play column indicates whether you've watched a replay. If you haven't watched it, the value displays as Play. After the playback starts, this value changes to Rewatch.
Visitor ID shows the visitor associated with the replay.
Account ID shows the account associated with the replay.
Start time is the date and time that Pendo started capturing this visitor's interactions in the replay.
Duration represents the total amount of time that the visitor interacted with your app in a single “session”, which has no maximum length. The “session” ends when when a visitor's inactivity timeout is reached, the visitor closes their browser tab, or the visitor switches to a different Visitor or Account ID (whichever comes first). If a visitor accesses your app through multiple browser tabs or devices, these instances are considered separate sessions and captured as distinct replays. For more information, see Time calculations for Replay.
- Like other Pendo data, replays process at the start of every hour. If an individual replay spans multiple hours, Pendo extends the original replay duration as new data becomes available.
- By default, the maximum inactivity period is set to 30 minutes. This means that after 30 minutes of inactivity, the system stops capturing the visitor and begins capturing a new replay when the visitor becomes active again.
  
  An Admin can adjust this timeout period to 1 hour, 4 hours, 12 hours, or 24 hours using the Inactivity timeout setting on the Replay Settings page. To modify this setting, go to Settings > Subscription settings > Applications, open the relevant app, then select the Replay Settings tab and locate the Replay capture settings section.

% Active time shows the portion of a replay where the visitor actively engages with your app by moving their mouse, clicking, and performing other interactions. A higher percentage indicates a replay with lots of user activity.
Frustration indicates potential user friction within your app. Hover over each icon to view the number of frustration indicators captured in the replay. To review these instances, refer to the event log of the individual replay. For information on each frustration type, see Replays of potential frustration.
Guide count shows how many guide events were interacted with in a given replay. This count represents unique events, rather than total guide views, and includes Resource Center views.
App indicates which app the replay was captured in if you have Session Replay enabled for multiple apps.

You can also add additional columns to the table by selecting the Manage columns icon in the top-right corner of the table.

Select Add column at the bottom of the modal. Additional column options include:

Event count indicates the total number of actions captured during a replay. These actions encompass all visitor interactions within your app, including those that aren't specifically tagged in Pendo and any changes made to the webpage structure, known as DOM mutations.
Expires on indicates the date in which the replay expires.
All visitor, account, and parent account metadata fields that are available in Settings > Data mappings.

Note: Replays take one hour to process and display in the replay library, and all replays automatically delete after 30 days. If you think replays are missing from the library, see our troubleshooting article on Missing replays.

Watch replays on the player page

To access a visitor’s replay, select Play or Rewatch from the Replays table. This opens the player page, which provides a playback of the visitor's interactions with your app.

Take action at the top of the player page

At the top of the player page, you can take a few different actions:

Return to the library. Select < Back to saved filters to open a different replay or update your filters within the currently opened saved filter.
Navigate through the queue. Use the Previous and Next arrows to navigate between replays in the queue, which consists of replays in the Replays table in the library or those related to your previous selection (like suggested replays or quick filters). The text to the left of the buttons shows the total number of replays in the queue and your current position. For extensive queues, apply event filters in the replay library to focus on the most relevant and meaningful replays.
Favorite. Select the star icon to mark this replay as a favorite. A yellow star indicates it's currently favorited, while a white star means it isn't favorited. Filter by favorited replays using the star icon in the replay library.
Create an issue. Select this to report a bug or user experience issue directly from the replay. You can adjust the clip length and, if AI is enabled, generate a summary and reproduction steps automatically. For more information, see Create an issue from a replay.
Add to playlist. Select this to add the replay to an existing playlist or create a new playlist. Playlists help you organize replays by theme, topic, or workflow for easier sharing and review.
For more information, see Create replay playlists.
Share. Choose to copy the replay link to your device’s clipboard or create a clip to share key moments in the video with other users in your Pendo subscription.

Tip: If you want to share a replay without creating a clip, you can specify a starting timestamp by adding it to the URL. For example, to start the replay at 32 minutes and 46 seconds, add &clipStart=32m46s to the end of the URL. The timestamp supports hours, minutes, and seconds, and the clipStart parameter is case-sensitive.

Navigate the video player

The video section of the player includes the following components:

Timeline. Like a standard video player, select anywhere in the timeline to navigate through the playback. Inactive portions are highlighted in yellow. Hover over an inactive section of the timeline to view the duration of user inactivity.
Annotations. Replays are marked with annotations to highlight important moments. These include events based on advanced filters you set in the replay library (such as Page views or rage clicks), as well as any comments added to the replay. Select an annotation to skip to that part of the replay, or hover over it and select View details to open the relevant details page in Pendo.
Play or pause. Use this button to start or stop the replay. Alternatively, you can use the spacebar on your keyboard or select the replay itself to play or pause.
Rewind and fast-forward. Use these buttons to move back or forward by 10 seconds.
Playback speed. Adjust the speed of the replay. 1x is the speed at which the visitor used your app. Pendo saves your selected speed for future viewings.
Length. See the length of the replay, along with your current position in the video.
Show all frustrations. Turn this on to view all frustration types as timeline annotations.
Cursor and player settings. Select the Player settings button (gear icon) to customize playback. Pendo saves your selected preferences for future viewings. Settings include the following:
- Show path. Turn this on to view a colored path that follows the visitor's cursor in the replay.
- Path and click color. If you choose to show the path, select your preferred color for the visitor's cursor.
- Auto-start. Turn this on to start replays automatically when opened from the library or queue.
- Skip inactivity. Turn this on to skip periods where the visitor shows no interaction with the app.
Comment on the replay. Use Pendo collaboration to comment on a specific moment in the replay. Select the comment icon to pause the video and leave feedback, ask a question, or tag another Pendo user. Your comment appears as an annotation on the timeline and is visible to others in your subscription. For more information, see Collaborate on replays.
Create a clip. Clip a specific portion of the replay to save or share with other Pendo users in your subscription. For more information, see Create replay clips.
Full screen. Use this button to adjust the video size to the size of your screen. Alternatively, double-click on the video to open or close full screen mode.

Tip: Use keyboard shortcuts to quickly control replay playback. To rewind or fast-forward, use the arrow keys or j and l respectively. To play or pause, use the spacebar.

View metadata, event log, and trends

The right-side panel on the player page includes supplementary information related to the visitor and events they interacted with in the replay.

Next to the Visitor ID, select the Open visitor details icon to open the details page for that visitor.

Below the Visitor ID, view the latest Visitor and account metadata captured for the visitor in the replay. Select the Edit visitor and account metadata icon to add, remove, and reorder the values to your preference.

The Event log section includes tagged and untagged Pages, tagged Features, guides, and frustration indicators. If you see that there are multiple matching Pages or Features, this means that those Pages and Features share tagging rules.

You can search the event log or filter by event types to find events that you're most interested in. Select the All event types dropdown at the top of the event log, then select the checkboxes next to each type of event you want to see in the replay. The event log updates with only the selected event types. Select Clear to undo your selections and view all event types.

Additional actions in the event log include the following:

At the bottom of the event log, select Resume auto-scroll to go directly to the events displayed at the current timestamp that the player is paused on.
In the list of events in the event log, select a timestamp to have the player skip to that event interaction in the playback.
Select the ellipsis (three dots) located to the right of an event to view options for that event:
- Go to details page. Open the related details page for that event in a new browser tab.
- Watch replays. View additional replays where visitors interacted with that specific event.
- Tag Page. Create a tag for an untagged Page.
- Ignore as [frustration type]. Mark a rage click, error click, or dead click as expected behavior for a Feature. This action requires you to have permissions to edit Features. When selected, this option excludes interactions with this Feature from being flagged as frustrations in all current and future replays. If needed, you can reverse this action on the Feature's details page under Details > Ignore Frustration.
  
  Find all ignored frustrations in your replay settings (under Settings > Subscription Settings > Applications > select application > Replay Settings > Ignored frustrations). You can also unignore frustrations from within the table.

Next to the Event log header is Trends, where you can view suggested replay insights and generate reports (if you have Pendo Analytics in your subscription) using the data in this replay.

Generate a funnel report

Funnels show you conversion rates for a series of steps. Use these steps to generate a funnel report using the events in the replay:

Under Explore trends, select Funnel.
Select one or more events to include as steps in the funnel report by checking the boxes to the left of each event, then select Create funnel. This action takes you to the report creation page pre-populated with the events you selected. From here, you can continue to edit, save, and run the report.

For more information about this report type, see Funnels.

Generate a Data Explorer report

Data Explorer provides insights into user behavior by allowing you to query event, guide, or app data to visualize trends and comparisons. Use these steps to generate a Data Explorer report using the events in the replay:

Under Explore trends, select Data Explorer.
Select one or more events to include in the Data Explorer report by checking the boxes to the left of those events, then select Create data explorer report. This action takes you to the report creation page pre-populated with the events you selected. From here, you can continue to edit, save, and run the report.

For more information about this report type, see Data Explorer.

Watch replays from other places in Pendo

You can also watch replays contextually from other locations within Pendo, all of which are detailed in the following sections.

Funnels

Replays in funnel reports provide insight into how visitors progress through funnel steps or drop off. Replays are available for interactions with tagged Pages and Features, but not for Track Events.

In the funnel chart, hover over or select a step to view how many visitors dropped off of the funnel or continued to that step, then select Watch replay samples.
In the funnel breakdown table, select Watch replay samples above the table or use the play icon next to a specific visitor.

Selecting any of these options opens a replay player overlay, which displays the funnel report name, the funnel step the visitor is interacting with in that replay, and the visitor counts. Replays are queued in the order of visitors in the breakdown table, and watching replay samples starts at the beginning of the queue rather than with a specific visitor.

If watching replays is unavailable, the replays have expired due to the 30-day retention limit.

Paths

Replays in path reports help visualize how visitors navigate through your app, reflecting the data in the report. Replays are available for interactions with tagged Pages and Features, but not for Track Events or untagged Pages and Features.

In the path visualization, hover over a step, then select Watch replays.
In the path breakdown table, select Watch replays above the table or use the play icon in the Watch replays column next to a visitor.

Selecting any of these options opens a replay player overlay, which displays the path report name, whether it’s Paths from or Paths to the anchor event, and the visitor counts with percentages related to that step. Replays are queued in the order of visitors listed in the breakdown table.

If no replays are available to watch, this is due to one of the following reasons:

The step is related to a Track Event.
The step says Other, which means you must select it to open additional path steps.
The step has no event details available, including Untagged, Trimmed, and Unknown steps.
Any replays have expired due to the 30-day retention limit.

Details pages

When viewing the details page for a Page, Feature, or guide, select Watch replays in the top-right corner of the page to view all replays that interact with that specific Page, Feature, or guide.

When viewing the details page for a visitor or account, select Watch replays in the top-right corner of the page for the relevant visitor or account to view all replays from that specific visitor or account.

When selecting Watch replays from a visitor or account's details page, you're prompted to select a quick filter to help you find the most relevant replays for the specified visitor or account.

Most recent replays opens a queue of all replays for the visitor or account that's sorted by the start time of the replay.
Most activity opens a queue of all replays for the visitor or account that's sorted by the highest number of generated events, encompassing both browser events and Pendo events.
Most-clicked Feature opens a queue of all replays for the visitor or account that contain the Feature that's received the most interactions for that visitor or account.
Most-used Page opens a queue of all replays for the visitor or account that contain the Page that's received the most visits for that visitor or account.
Go to library opens the replay library and displays all replays for the specified visitor or account.

After you choose a filter and are on the overlay of the player page, you can navigate to the replay library page by selecting the ellipsis (...) and View all replays. This action organizes the table according to the selected filter or sorting preference that corresponds with your chosen quick filter. For example, if you initially selected the Most recent replays quick filter, the table sorts by the Start time column in descending order. Similarly, if you chose the Most-clicked Feature quick filter, this filters the replays based on that specific Feature.

Also on a visitor's details page, select View Activity > Watch replay to view replays associated with the events in the log. Note that this option isn't available to select if the associated replays have reached the 30-day limit and expired.

When viewing the details page for an NPS survey, select the dropdown button next to Add to Dashboard, then select Watch replays to view all replays that interact with that specific NPS survey.

When you choose to watch replays on any of these pages, you’re directed to the replay library with the relevant filters pre-selected.

Visual Design Studio

When tagging or viewing a tagged Feature in the Visual Design Studio, select the Feature name, then select Watch replays to view all replays where visitors interact with that specific Feature.

This action directs you to the replay library with the relevant filters pre-selected.

Listen

When viewing a feedback item in Listen, select Watch replay to observe the visitor's interactions leading up to the submission of that feedback. This functionality is exclusive to feedback submitted through poll responses.

View additional resources

Visit the Pendo Academy to learn more on how to set up Session Replay and how you can leverage it for analytics.