# Recording Settings

Control what session replay captures — activation, sample rate, excluded users, and how form and element data is masked or excluded.

**Path:** Settings → Recording Settings

Recording Settings control what [Session replay](/user-guides/analytics/session-replay/) captures: whether recording runs, how much is sampled, which users are excluded, and how sensitive form and element data is handled. Changes to the capture rules affect **future sessions only**.

## Mask vs exclude

Two of the settings below use the same choice for handling an element:

| Rule | Effect |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Mask** | Captures the user interaction but conceals the text content. |
| **Exclude** | Drops the element from capture entirely, including any interactions. |

## Recording activation

The master toggle. When off, no sessions are recorded.

## Sample Rate

Sets the share of sessions to record, then **Update**. A rate of `0` records nothing; raise it to capture more. Use a lower rate on high-traffic sites to keep volume manageable.

## Excluded email patterns

Wildcard or regex patterns (for example `*@company.com`). Matching users are excluded from **lead identification and session recording** (once SDK support is enabled). Use **Add Pattern** to add one, then **Update**. This is the place to keep your own team and internal users out of recordings.

## Form privacy

A ruleset that protects user-entered content in forms on your site. Each form selector carries a **Mask** or **Exclude** rule, and you can **Add Exception** for elements that don't contain sensitive information. Default selectors:

| Selector | Default rule |
| :--- | :--- |
| `input` | Mask |
| `input[type=radio]` | Exclude |
| `input[type=checkbox]` | Mask |
| `textarea` | Mask |
| `[contenteditable]` | Mask |

## Element data capture rules

Custom, selector-based rules for what session replay captures, beyond the form defaults. Each rule is a CSS selector set to **Mask** or **Exclude**, with optional exceptions. Use **Create New** to add one, and the row actions to edit or delete. For example, Foldspace ships rules to exclude credit-card fields (`[autocomplete^=cc-]`) and password inputs (`input[type=password]`).

## Related

- [Session replay](/user-guides/analytics/session-replay/): where recorded sessions are watched.
- [PII Control](/privacy/pii-masking/): agent-level masking of PII in conversations (distinct from recording's form privacy).