Hotjar on your website.
Does it record before anyone is asked?

Where Hotjar loads past the banner

The banner only holds Hotjar back if it knows the code. It usually sits right in the theme or comes through a plugin.

1. 01

   Code hard-coded in the theme

   The Hotjar code loads static.hotjar.com/c/hotjar-….js from the header. It runs with every page, regardless of the banner.

   Art. 5(3) Directive 2002/58/EC

2. 02

   Plugin or Tag Manager

   The Hotjar plugin for WordPress or a Hotjar tag in Tag Manager without a consent check starts recording on the first page view.

   Art. 5(3) Directive 2002/58/EC

3. 03

   Recording on every page

   If Hotjar also runs on cart, checkout or account pages, it sees inputs and page content there. Where you do not need the analysis, it does not belong at all.

   Art. 5(3) Directive 2002/58/EC

Step by step

1. Measure

   Open the page in a private window, developer tools (F12), Network tab, filter for “hotjar” and reload without touching the banner. Under Application, Cookies look for _hj. The report does this for every page it reads.

2. Only after consent

   In the banner tool assign Hotjar to the statistics category (script address static.hotjar.com) or tie the tag to consent in Tag Manager.

3. Only where needed

   Load Hotjar only on the pages you want to analyse and leave out checkout and account.

4. Measure again

   Check again without consent and after “Reject”. Only when no request to hotjar.com is left in the list and no _hj cookie appears does Hotjar no longer record before the choice.

Questions