Acoustic Experience Analytics
Acoustic Experience Analytics is a session replay and digital experience analytics tool, formerly Tealeaf, that records visitor sessions, clicks and form interactions to build detailed behavioural data.
What does Acoustic Experience Analytics do?
What Acoustic Experience Analytics is
Acoustic Experience Analytics, with heritage in the IBM and Tealeaf session replay technology, is a digital experience analytics tool that reconstructs how visitors use your site. It records sessions, capturing page views, mouse movements, clicks, scrolling and form interactions so teams can replay journeys and spot friction. Because it watches real interactions, it processes far more detail than ordinary page analytics.
What data and cookies it captures
The tool sets cookies to identify sessions and returning visitors and records a stream of interaction events tied to those identifiers. Recordings can include text typed into forms, on screen content, IP address and device details, which means they can inadvertently capture sensitive information such as health data, payment details or credentials. This high level of detail is what makes session replay a significant privacy concern.
GDPR and ePrivacy implications
Session replay is a systematic and intrusive form of monitoring under the GDPR, and the cookies it relies on are non essential, so the ePrivacy Directive requires prior consent. Regulators treat the capacity to record sensitive input as a high risk to data subjects. You must mask sensitive fields, limit what is recorded and be able to demonstrate that the monitoring is necessary and proportionate.
Consent requirements
Recording should begin only after the visitor gives freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous consent, because legitimate interest is hard to justify for such intrusive capture. The consent request should explain plainly that interactions will be recorded and that sensitive fields are masked. Visitors must be able to refuse without losing access to the site and to withdraw consent as easily as they gave it.
Data transfers and hosting
Given the United States and IBM heritage, processing commonly involves United States infrastructure, although regional hosting options may be available. Because recordings can hold rich and sensitive personal data, any transfer to the United States or another third country must rest on Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU US Data Privacy Framework and a documented transfer impact assessment. Confirm the actual data location in your contract.
Practical compliance steps
Carry out a data protection impact assessment before going live and configure aggressive masking so passwords, payment fields and free text are excluded at source. Gate recording behind consent, set a short retention period and restrict who can view replays. Sign a data processing agreement, secure the transfer mechanism for any United States processing and disclose the tool clearly in your privacy and cookie notices.
Acoustic Experience Analytics and the GDPR
Acoustic Experience Analytics is classified as “Analytics”. On a site that targets European visitors, it must only load after the visitor consents, and it must be listed in your cookie policy.
- Legal basis
- Consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR is the appropriate basis because session replay is intrusive and sets non essential cookies. Legitimate interest is difficult to sustain given the capacity to capture sensitive input, so prior opt in consent should be obtained before recording starts.
- Risk level
- high
- Applicable regulations
- GDPR, ePrivacy Directive
Impact assessment (DPIA)
A data protection impact assessment is strongly recommended and often mandatory because session replay is a systematic monitoring of individuals that can capture sensitive personal data. Assess what the recordings can see, including keystrokes, payment fields and free text, and confirm that sensitive inputs are masked at source before they leave the browser. Evaluate the consent mechanism, the retention period for recordings, the access controls within the platform and the transfer of data to the United States. Document the necessity and proportionality of the recording, the safeguards applied and the residual risk to data subjects.
Sample text for your banner
With your consent we use Acoustic Experience Analytics to record how you interact with this site, including clicks and form activity, so we can improve the experience. Sensitive fields are masked. Recording starts only if you accept, and you can decline or withdraw consent at any time.
What Acoustic Experience Analytics sets and contacts
- Tracking method
- Session replay and behavioural capture via embedded JavaScript that records page interactions, mouse movements, clicks and form activity
- Server location
- United States (with regional hosting options)
- Data transferred outside the EU
- Acoustic Experience Analytics has United States and IBM heritage, and processing commonly involves infrastructure in the United States, although regional hosting options may exist. Session recordings can contain detailed personal data and potentially sensitive input, so transfers to the United States or other third countries must be covered by Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU US Data Privacy Framework where the recipient is certified, together with a transfer impact assessment.
Cookies set (3)
| Name | Type | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| TLTSID | Analytics | Session | Identifies the current session so the session replay tool can stitch interaction events into a single recording. Set only after consent. |
| TLTHID | Analytics | 12 months | Recognises a returning visitor across sessions to link recordings over time. Set only after consent. |
| CoreID6 | Analytics | 24 months | Assigns a persistent visitor identifier used for behavioural experience analytics. Set only after consent. |
Third-party domains contacted (3)
goacoustic.comtealeaf.comacoustic.co
Frequently asked questions about Acoustic Experience Analytics
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What cookies does Acoustic Experience Analytics set?
The tool sets analytics cookies that identify the current session and a returning visitor so it can stitch interaction events into a coherent recording. These cookies are non essential and tie the replay to a visitor identifier. They should load only after the visitor has given consent.
Do I need consent for session replay?
Yes. Session replay is intrusive and the cookies are non essential, so recording should only begin after freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous consent. Legitimate interest is hard to justify because the tool can capture sensitive input. Visitors must be able to refuse and to withdraw consent easily.
What is the legal basis for session replay?
Consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR is the appropriate basis given how intrusive the recording is and the non essential cookies involved. Relying on legitimate interest is risky because replays can capture sensitive data. Document the basis and the necessity and proportionality of the monitoring.
Does Acoustic Experience Analytics transfer data to the United States?
Given its United States and IBM heritage, processing commonly involves United States infrastructure, though regional hosting options may exist. Because recordings can be rich and sensitive, transfers must rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU US Data Privacy Framework plus a transfer impact assessment.
Do I need a DPIA for session replay?
Almost always yes. Session replay is systematic monitoring that can capture sensitive personal data, which typically triggers the requirement for a data protection impact assessment. Assess what is recorded, the masking applied, the retention period and the United States transfer before going live.
How do I implement Acoustic Experience Analytics compliantly?
Complete a DPIA, then configure strict masking so passwords, payment fields and free text are excluded at source. Gate recording behind consent, apply a short retention period and restrict who can view replays. Sign a data processing agreement and secure the transfer mechanism for United States processing.
What are the alternatives to Acoustic Experience Analytics?
Other session replay and experience analytics tools include Hotjar, Contentsquare, Microsoft Clarity and FullStory. When comparing them, prioritise default masking, the hosting region, retention controls and the consent model rather than the depth of recording alone.
How do I update my cookie policy for session replay?
Disclose that you use a session replay tool, list its cookies with purpose and duration, and explain that interactions are recorded and sensitive fields are masked. State the legal basis, the retention period and how visitors can withdraw consent, and review the entry whenever the configuration changes.
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