Cookie Consent and Session Replay — How to Set It Up Correctly (and Why You See No Data)

Here's the most common support question for any session replay tool: "I installed the script, but I see no sessions." In most cases, the script is working perfectly—it's waiting for consent that never arrives.

This guide explains how consent works for session replay and heatmaps, and how to wire it correctly.

Table of Contents

1. Consent Modes Explained
2. Wiring the Consent Call
3. Popular Consent Platforms
4. Testing Your Setup
5. Consent Rate and Data Gaps
6. Key Takeaways

Consent Modes Explained

DeepSync projects default to consent-required. Whether legitimate interest is lawful for you depends on jurisdiction, your privacy notice, and what you capture—a decision for your legal counsel. See consent modes.

Wiring the Consent Call

When a visitor accepts analytics cookies, call:

deepsync("consent", true);

When they withdraw:

deepsync("consent", false);

Withdrawing stops recording immediately.

Popular Consent Platforms

Most consent management platforms (CookieYes, Cookiebot, OneTrust, Complianz, and others) offer either:

• Callbacks / events when consent changes — call the consent function there.
• Script blocking by category — make sure DeepSync is assigned to the right category (e.g., analytics/statistics) so it loads after consent.

With Google Tag Manager, ensure the tag is allowed to fire under its consent category and add a consent tag or trigger. See heatmaps via GTM.

Testing Your Setup

1. Open your site in a private window.
2. Decline → browse → confirm no session appears.
3. Open a new private window, accept → browse → confirm the session appears.
4. Revisit in the same window → confirm recording continues without clicking the banner again.
5. Withdraw → confirm recording stops.

If sessions still don't appear, see I installed the snippet but see no data.

Consent Rate and Data Gaps

With consent-required mode, your recordings represent visitors who accepted. That's fine for finding UX problems—friction affects everyone—but remember:

• Session counts will differ from server logs or other tools (why numbers differ).
• Banner design affects consent rates; a clear, honest banner performs better than dark patterns.
• Masking still applies to consenting visitors—inputs, passwords, and payment fields are masked by default.

Key Takeaways

• "Installed but no data" is usually a missing consent call.
• Wire consent on accept and on page load for returning visitors.
• Configure your CMP category so the script can load.
• Test decline, accept, revisit, and withdraw.

Conclusion

Get consent right once and your replay data will be both lawful and complete for the visitors who agreed. It's a ten-minute setup that saves days of confusion.

Start free.