# Your data & Instant Replay

Instant Replay helps you capture “what just happened” without recording video.

It replays the page by saving lightweight snapshots of the web page’s structure.

### How Instant Replay works

Screendesk periodically snapshots the DOM (the page structure) in your **active tab**.

When you create a report, Screendesk re-renders those snapshots as a replay.

{% hint style="info" %}
Instant Replay is **not** a screen recording. It replays **HTML**, not pixels.
{% endhint %}

### What gets captured

Instant Replay can capture:

* **HTML structure:** elements like text, buttons, and inputs
* **CSS styles:** layout and styling changes
* **Visual page changes:** state changes as you click and navigate

### What does not get captured

Instant Replay does not capture:

* Your desktop, other apps, or the rest of your screen
* Other tabs or windows
* Audio or camera input
* Raw keystrokes

Sensitive fields (like passwords) are masked.

### Privacy and storage

Instant Replay is designed to keep data on your machine by default:

* Snapshots are stored **locally** in a rolling buffer.
* Old data is continuously overwritten (about a **2-minute** window).
* Nothing uploads until you explicitly save a capture.

### When data uploads

Data uploads only after you choose to create/share a report.

Until then, the replay buffer stays on your device.

### Why use Instant Replay

Use Instant Replay when bugs are hard to catch in real time.

It’s lightweight because it avoids video encoding and large files.

### Turn Instant Replay off

<figure><img src="/files/M6kPozg6mq5sduMJl7Rd" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Open Screendesk

Click the Screendesk icon in your browser toolbar.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Open settings

Click **Settings** (gear icon).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Disable Instant Replay

Turn off **Enable Instant Replay**.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### Disable Instant Replay on specific sites

<figure><img src="/files/0RqiZct2Z6vvm9WfICFO" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Use [Website management](/bug-reports/settings/website-management.md) to block sensitive domains.

Screendesk will automatically skip Instant Replay on blocked sites.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
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```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.