: Users can export session recordings for offline viewing or "safe keeping," allowing them to be shared or reviewed outside the PostHog platform Mobile Offline Buffering
Most session replay tools (e.g., Smartlook or Mouseflow) operate on a "walled garden" principle. You record user sessions via their proprietary script, the data lives on their servers, and the replay player is a proprietary iframe embedded in their dashboard. If you stop paying, you lose access to every recording. Even if you stay, you often cannot pipe that raw data into your own data lake.
This comprehensive article explores how to deploy, configure, and maximize the utility of a portable PostHog Session Replay setup. What is PostHog Session Replay Portable? posthog session replay portable
Running session replay on a local machine during User Acceptance Testing (UAT) allows engineers to catch edge-case visual bugs, state management failures, and race conditions before code ever hits a staging server. 3. Mobile and Field Testing
export function usePortableSessionRecorder(options?: userId?: string; autoStart?: boolean; onSessionComplete?: (session: SessionRecording) => void; ) null>(null); const [isRecording, setIsRecording] = useState(false); : Users can export session recordings for offline
You can query the /api/projects/project_id/session_recordings/ endpoint to get a list of recordings or fetch a specific session ID. The API returns the metadata and the raw JSON event stream.
By adopting a portable session replay strategy today, you future-proof your product analytics. You ensure that your user insights remain a strategic asset you control, not a subscription you rent. Even if you stay, you often cannot pipe
With an open architecture built on rrweb and blob storage, PostHog empowers you to , freeing it from the constraints of typical SaaS walled gardens. This ensures that your most valuable insights are never held hostage.
When moving session replay data, portability must be balanced with security. Portable data is vulnerable data. PostHog helps manage this by allowing you to mask sensitive information before it is ever captured. If you export a session, the PII (Personally Identifiable Information) stays masked in the exported JSON, ensuring that your portable data remains compliant with GDPR and HIPAA. Generating Portable Insights
While you won't find a "Download as AVI" button for entire batches of sessions, PostHog session replay is highly portable through its API, open-source architecture, and robust export pipelines. By leveraging these tools, teams can ensure their user behavior data is never trapped in a single ecosystem, providing the flexibility needed for sophisticated data engineering and long-term auditing.
If you are not in the cloud, use MinIO, which is an open-source S3-compatible storage system, to store your replay recordings locally. 3. Data Retention and Mobility