Screenshots provide visual context for tagged Pages and Features. When you save a tag in the Visual Design Studio, Pendo captures a static image of the UI and attaches it to the Page or Feature. This helps you verify tag accuracy, understand what’s being measured, and reference tags without reopening your app.
Important: Tag screenshots are turned off by default for all subscriptions. A subscription admin must explicitly turn on screenshot capture, and users must acknowledge the screenshot warning prompt in the Visual Design Studio before screenshots are taken during Page and Feature tagging.
Use cases
Screenshots are most helpful when you need quick, shared context about what a tag represents. They can:
- Clarify which element or URL pattern a tag covers when selectors are complex or the UI changes often.
- Validate that a rule matches the intended element to reduce rework.
- Give stakeholders a fast way to confirm what a metric represents before using it in reports or decisions.
- Help new teammates and collaborators understand tags without needing to open your app.
- Provide a quick reference for which Pages and Features map to which UI elements.
Important: Screenshots can include sensitive or personal information from your app. Before saving a tag, follow your organization’s privacy and data-handling policies. Consider avoiding tagging screens that display personal or sensitive data, especially in production environments.
How screenshots work
Screenshots are static references that are captured and stored with the tag.
When you create a new tag or update an existing tag in the Visual Design Studio, Pendo automatically captures a screenshot if screenshot capture is enabled for your subscription and the screenshot warning prompt has been acknowledged. The screenshot is stored with the tag, displayed on its details page, and linked from the Pages or Features list.
If you update the tag and save it again, the screenshot is replaced with a new one.
Note: Screenshots don’t verify current selector matches or affect analytics.
Information automatically redacted
To protect end-user privacy, Pendo attempts to automatically mask several categories of sensitive information in screenshots:
- Email addresses
- Passport numbers
- Credit card numbers
- Social Security numbers
- Dates
- IP addresses (IPv4 and IPv6)
- Phone numbers
- Physical addresses and ZIP codes
Note: The address-matching pattern currently recognizes English-language address terms only.
Screenshot access
Access depends on your Pendo permissions and subscription settings:
- Add and update screenshots. Users assigned the Tagging Editor role can add or replace screenshots when they tag a Page or Feature.
- View screenshots. Any user who can access Pages and Features can view screenshots.
- Turn screenshots on or off. Subscription admins can control screenshot capture by selecting or unselecting Turn off screenshot capture in Settings > Subscription settings. Once screenshot capture is turned on, the first person to launch the Visual Design Studio for tagging must acknowledge the screenshot warning prompt. After it’s acknowledged once, screenshots are captured for the entire subscription.
Add a screenshot
To capture a screenshot for a new tag:
- Tag a Page or Feature as you normally would in the Visual Design Studio.
- When you select Save, Pendo automatically attaches a screenshot to the tag if screenshot capture is turned on and the warning prompt has been acknowledged.
To capture screenshots for existing tags:
- Open the Visual Design Studio, then select Tagged Features needing screenshots in the Features tab or Tagged Pages needing screenshots in the Pages tab.
- Select Screenshot next to an individual Page or Feature name, or choose to Screenshot All. This automatically adds screenshots to all tags in the list.
For detailed tagging steps, see Page tagging and Feature tagging.
View screenshots
You can review screenshots from two places:
- List view. Add the Screenshot column in Product > Pages or Product > Features to see which Pages and Features have screenshots attached.
- Details view. Open a Page or Feature’s details page and review the full screenshot under Details.
When you select View from the list page or select the screenshot listed in the details page, this opens the screenshot in a larger, high-resolution view. From here, you can:
- Zoom in and out using the + (plus) and - (minus) controls or keys.
- Pan across the image by clicking around or using the arrow keys.
- Open a minimap for easier navigation with the M key.
- Reset the view or close the viewer from the toolbar.
Update screenshots
To replace a screenshot:
- Open the tag in the Visual Design Studio.
- Choose to Edit Page or Edit Feature and make any necessary adjustments.
- Select Save. Pendo captures a new screenshot and stores it with the updated tag.
Delete screenshots
To delete a screenshot:
- Open the details page for the relevant Page or Feature.
- Open the Details section, and find the Screenshot field.
- Select Remove screenshot, then select Yes, remove to confirm. This removes the screenshot from the tag's details.