Do Session Recordings capture browser form validation messages?

Form validation messages may appear differently in Session Recordings depending on how they are generated. Browser-generated messages are not captured, while messages rendered within the webpage may appear in the recording.

Browser-generated validation messages

Session Recordings cannot capture validation messages generated by the browser, such as native HTML5 form validation messages. The browser renders these messages outside the webpage’s DOM, so Matomo cannot detect or include them when recording the page.

For example, the browser generates a validation message that is visible to the user but does not appear in Session Recordings.

Validation messages added to a webpage

Session Recordings can capture validation messages added directly to the webpage as HTML elements.

The validation message text may be hidden if the HTML element, or one of its parent elements, is masked. For known, non-sensitive messages, add the data-matomo-unmask attribute to the relevant HTML element. Review the content carefully before removing privacy masking.

To investigate how validation issues affect form completion, use Form Analytics alongside Session Recordings. Its field-level metrics show where visitors hesitate, make corrections, refocus fields or abandon a form.