QA Heatmap Analytics categorize users or sessions by the following.

Users

Users are judged on the basis of an anonymized random alphanumeric value called ‘qa_id’, which is stored in the user’s browser cookie for two years. Therefore, even if the user is the same person, a different qa_id will be issued for smartphones and desktops due to different browsers, and the user will be recognized as a different user.

Since QA Heatmap Analytics is our own access analysis server, it is not affected by the ITP (Intelligent Tracking Prevention) adopted by iOS, and cookies will be retained for two years as usual.

* If you have issued your own ID and want to integrate your data with QA Heatmap Analytics, we can support you with our Enterprise plan. Please contact us for details.

Sessions

A session is a group of actions taken by a single user when accessing a site. (For example, browsing multiple pages, signing up for something, etc.)

If a user leaves the site with a browser for more than 30 minutes, the user is counted as having completed a session; if the user returns within 30 minutes and resumes operations, the session is considered to be ongoing.

Cross-Date Sessions

In QA Heatmap Analytics, crossing dates is not relevant to sessions. If a user accesses your site at 23:59 on September 1st, and then leaves at 0:20 on September 2nd, the session will continue.

However, when counting the number of sessions, the access start time is taken into account. In the previous example, the sessions are counted as having occurred on September 1st.

New users and returning visits

QA Heatmap Analytics measures new users as those who visit the site for the first time.

A new user is a user who does not have a ‘qa_id’ or a ‘_ga,’ a Google Analytics cookie.