Microsoft Clarity

Understand what remains available

Microsoft says Clarity retains recordings for 30 days, while favorites and a random sample can remain up to nine months. Microsoft’s recording guide describes the longer-lived sample; verify current availability and export options for your investigation window.

A replay reconstructs a session from captured browser information. Missing consent, browser compatibility, blockers, inactive content or retention may limit what you see. Use aggregate analytics to size a problem and replay to investigate examples; neither alone proves why every visitor left.

Microsoft describes Clarity as free and says it records up to 100,000 sessions per project per day; recordings may not be available for every tracked session. Plan review capacity and privacy administration alongside the software cost.

Microsoft’s heatmap guide limits each heatmap to 100,000 pageviews and describes limitations displaying dynamic sections. Microsoft’s FAQ says dynamic elements can be selected from the element list. These descriptions differ; test your menus and the selected screenshot before drawing conclusions.

See Microsoft’s illustrated heatmap screenshot guide for a vendor-hosted example of choosing a page state.

Resolve masking defaults before collecting

Microsoft’s masking guide calls Balanced the default for web projects; Microsoft’s FAQ describes all content as suppressed by default. The sources differ. Inspect the actual project mode and test representative pages before collection rather than assuming either default.

Microsoft says input boxes and dropdowns are masked in all modes, but CSS and style tags are not masked. Changes affect new recordings, can take up to an hour and are not retroactive. Test dynamic text, URLs, custom fields and sensitive screens with synthetic data; exclude or mask what should not be collected.

Test the consent signal

Microsoft says denied analytics storage can still result in cookieless collection when the tag loads, with some features limited. For the EEA, UK and Switzerland it describes consent-mode behavior and signal requirements. Check granted, denied and withdrawn states in your own implementation.

Decide with your privacy team when the tag may load and what data may be processed. A consent banner or vendor masking feature does not by itself establish compliance.

How to compare the alternatives

Compare Contentsquare and Mouseflow on the same page, consent states and replay-retention needs. The Contentsquare vs Microsoft Clarity comparison compares coverage and privacy controls. See form builders and the Mixpanel product analytics guide for adjacent decisions.

Common questions

Can Clarity be used on a site targeting children?

Microsoft says Clarity should not be used on websites or apps targeting users under 18.

Does denying consent mean no data is collected?

Microsoft says the tag can collect cookieless data when analytics storage is denied. Verify the deployed configuration.

Sources and scope

We read the linked vendor documentation on November 5, 2026. This is documentation-only research; we have not installed the tools, recorded sessions or tested masking, consent or exports.

Inclusion and corrections are free. Any future vendor placement will be clearly labeled and will not determine editorial judgment or order. Confirm current terms and test your own configuration.

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