Heatmaps & Session Recordings
Heatmaps visualise in aggregate where users click, scroll or linger on a page, while session recordings replay individual, pseudonymous visits as a video-like sequence. Both methods add a qualitative picture of how people really interact with a page to the quantitative figures from GA4.
In practice
In practice, heatmaps are used to check whether important content or calls to action are noticed at all within the visible area, while session recordings are brought in selectively when a pattern stands out – a high drop-off rate at one particular form step, for example – to understand the cause. Both methods access the user's device and record their behaviour. In Austria, section 165 para. 3 TKG 2021 requires consent for this in principle, regardless of whether personal data is involved; the EDPB guidelines 2/2023 expressly cover tracking without cookies as well. Sensitive input fields such as passwords or payment data should additionally be masked automatically. Whether and how a particular tool may be used needs a legal assessment in each case.