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Amplitude React Native Session Replay Tracking

Amplitude Session Replay for React Native lets you watch real user sessions. Learn what to track, how to set up sampling and masking, and what to act on.

Analytics

Funnels tell you where users leave. They rarely tell you why. A 40% drop on a payment screen could be a confusing form, a slow API call or a keyboard covering the button, and the numbers alone cannot separate them.

Amplitude’s release notes list Session Replay for React Native, shipped on 29 August 2026. React Native teams can now attach a replay to the same user and event data they already analyse, rather than adding a separate tool with a separate identity model.

The risk is turning it on blindly. Replay captures sensitive screens, adds payload and battery cost, and generates far more footage than anyone can watch.

Data Points to Track

  • session_replay_id: links each replay to the matching analytics session
  • replay_sample_rate: the percentage of sessions captured, recorded as a config property
  • masked_element_count: how many fields were masked per session, to verify privacy rules work
  • replay_upload_failures: failed or dropped replay uploads, by network type
  • app_start_overhead_ms: startup time with and without replay enabled
  • funnel_step and drop_off_flag: where the session left your key flow
  • frustration_events: repeated taps, rapid back navigation and error screens
  • app_version and platform: to compare replay coverage across releases

Setup Steps

  1. Install the Amplitude Session Replay plugin for React Native alongside your existing Analytics SDK, using the same device and user IDs.
  2. Start with a low sample rate, such as 5 to 10%, and raise it only if you need more coverage.
  3. Mask sensitive inputs by default, including payment, health and personal data screens, and test the masking on real builds.
  4. Check consent before recording. Tie replay capture to your consent state so users who opt out are not recorded.
  5. Measure the performance cost by comparing startup time, memory and battery on a build with replay on and off.
  6. Create a saved view of sessions that dropped off at your key funnel step, so reviewers open the right replays first.

Actionable Insights

Use replay to explain a metric you already distrust, not to browse. Pick the funnel step with the biggest drop and review a dozen sessions from it. Patterns appear quickly: a hidden button, a slow load, a validation error that never clears.

If upload failures cluster on mobile networks, your replay data is biased toward users on good connections. Interpret findings with that in mind.

If startup overhead is noticeable, lower the sample rate or delay replay initialisation until after the first screen renders.

Finally, record what you fixed and the metric that moved. That closes the loop between replay, release and result.

Share what you learn. A short weekly note listing the replays reviewed, the issue found and the owner assigned keeps replay from becoming a hobby for one analyst. Teams that do this tend to build a backlog of small, evidence-backed fixes instead of debating opinions in planning meetings.

Also set a retention window for replay data. Keep footage only as long as you need it to diagnose issues, and make sure the period matches your privacy policy. Shorter retention reduces risk and storage cost without hurting the insights you actually act on.

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