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Microsoft Clarity is showing significantly less data than expected. How can I get accurate session recordings and analytics?

Sanjay N 0 Reputation points
2026-06-17T10:22:04.68+00:00

Hi Team,

I have successfully installed Microsoft Clarity on my website and the tracking code is firing correctly. However, I am noticing a significant discrepancy between my website traffic and the data shown in Clarity.

For example:

  • Google Analytics 4 shows a much higher number of users/sessions.
  • Microsoft Clarity is showing only a small portion of the expected recordings and sessions.
  • Some pages receive traffic, but very few recordings are available in Clarity.

I would like to understand:

  1. What are the common reasons for Clarity showing fewer sessions than GA4?
  2. Are there any sampling limits or recording restrictions?
  3. Could cookie consent banners, ad blockers, CSP settings, or GTM implementation affect data collection?
  4. How can I verify that Clarity is tracking all pages correctly?
  5. Is there any way to troubleshoot missing recordings and incomplete data?

Additional Information:

  • Clarity is implemented through Google Tag Manager.
  • The Clarity tag is firing on all pages.
  • I have verified that the tracking code is present on the website.

Please guide me on the best way to diagnose this issue and improve data accuracy.

Thank you.

Microsoft Advertising | Other
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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-17T10:22:32.9133333+00:00

    Below are the main areas to check and how to troubleshoot lower-than-expected data in Microsoft Clarity, based on supported behavior.

    1. Common reasons Clarity shows fewer sessions than GA4
    • Clarity and GA4 are different tools and can legitimately show different numbers because they measure and process data differently.
    • When consent is not provided in regions where Clarity requires cookie consent (EEA, UK, CH), Clarity changes how it reports data:
      • Each pageview is treated as a separate session.
      • Funnels, user intent, returning users, and other user-level metrics become inaccurate or degraded.
      • Some insights and Copilot answers can be inaccurate.
    • If Clarity’s script is missing on some pages, or blocked by browser security (CSP) or network rules, those visits will not appear in Clarity at all.
    • If filters or date ranges in Clarity are too narrow, dashboards and heatmaps can appear to have “missing” data even though it exists.
    1. Sampling limits or recording restrictions
    • Clarity does not use sampling and does not impose traffic limits. It is designed to process large volumes of data with no sampling and no per-site traffic cap.
    • Clarity is a free service with no paid tier and no feature gating based on traffic volume.
    1. Impact of consent, ad blockers, CSP, GTM, and similar factors
    • Cookie consent (EEA/UK/CH):
      • When users in these regions do not provide consent, Clarity still counts pageviews but treats each pageview as its own session.
      • Effects include:
        • Session count: sessions are counted as pageviews; each pageview creates a new session.
        • Pages per session: always 1.
        • Funnels: multi-step funnels show full drop-off at each step.
        • Unique/returning users: every user is treated as unique; no returning users.
        • User intent: more sessions labeled “Low intent.”
        • Channel/source/referrer: more traffic labeled as “Other,” “Direct,” or self-referrer.
        • Content insights: all sessions appear as “One and Done.”
      • These behaviors can make Clarity’s user/session metrics look very different from GA4, especially for multi-page journeys.
    • Content Security Policy (CSP):
      • If the site uses CSP and Clarity domains are not allowed, browsers block Clarity resources and data will not be collected.
      • To allow Clarity, add it to the CSP, typically via default-src, for example:
        • default-src 'self' https://*.clarity.ms https://c.bing.com 'unsafe-inline';
      • Clarity may load from multiple domains (https://www.clarity.ms, https://c.bing.com, and https://[a-z].clarity.ms), so all must be permitted if using explicit domain lists.
      • CSP blocking can be confirmed by checking the browser developer console for CSP errors related to Clarity.
    • GTM implementation:
      • Clarity works when installed directly or via tag managers, but if GTM conditions, triggers, or environments prevent the tag from firing on some pages, those pages will not be tracked.
      • Ensure the Clarity tag fires on all intended pages and environments.
    1. Verifying that Clarity is tracking all pages correctly

    Use the following checks:

    • Installation correctness:
      • Confirm that the Clarity tracking code is installed on all pages that should be monitored. If the site was redesigned or templates changed, verify the script is still present.
      • If using multiple projects, ensure the correct project’s tracking code is used on each site.
    • Project script validation:
      • In Clarity:
        1. Go to Projects and open the relevant project.
        2. Select Setup → Installation methods → Install manually and copy the Clarity code.
        3. Compare this script with the one in the site’s <head> section, including the src URL.
        4. If they differ, replace the existing script with the correct one.
    • Subdomains:
      • Clarity only tracks pages where its script is installed. If subdomains are not tracked, ensure the script is present on those subdomains as well.
    • Network collection endpoint:
      • Verify that requests to https://www.clarity.ms/collect are being sent and not blocked:
        • Revisit setup instructions.
        • After loading a page, use the browser’s network tools to look for the collect request and confirm it succeeds.
    • CSP verification:
      • Open the browser developer console and look for CSP errors mentioning Clarity domains. If present, update CSP as described above.
    1. Troubleshooting missing recordings and incomplete data
    • Dashboard/recordings behavior:
      • If the dashboard shows that a URL has recordings but none are visible when selected, this can happen when there are too few sessions in the current filter set to reconstruct a full replay.
      • Mitigation:
        • Broaden or clear filters (device, country, time range, etc.) to increase the number of sessions.
    • Heatmaps and low page views/clicks:
      • If heatmaps show low page views or clicks:
        1. Confirm the tracking code is installed on all relevant pages.
        2. After installing or changing code, wait at least 30 minutes for heatmaps to be generated.
        3. Ensure the correct URL is targeted in the heatmap view.
        4. Clear all filters and set the Time frame to “Today” (or a broader range) to see the latest data.
    • Installation troubleshooting steps:
      • If data is unexpectedly low or missing:
        1. Re-check installation against the official setup guide.
        2. Ensure the tracking code was copied directly (not altered by text editors).
        3. If collect requests are not visible, revisit setup and verification steps.
        4. If, after these checks, Clarity still does not track as expected, contact Clarity support as indicated in the installation troubleshooting guide.
    1. Summary actions to improve data accuracy
    • Ensure Clarity script is present and correct on every page (including subdomains) and matches the intended project.
    • Confirm that CSP allows all required Clarity domains and that no CSP errors appear in the console.
    • Verify that https://www.clarity.ms/collect requests are being sent and succeeding.
    • Review and broaden filters and time ranges in the dashboard, recordings, and heatmaps when checking for data.
    • Be aware that in EEA/UK/CH without consent, Clarity will alter session-level reporting, which can make metrics diverge from GA4.

    References:

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