How do I make Microsoft Clarity CIPA compliant?

Gate Microsoft Clarity behind a consent management platform so it does not load or transmit data until the visitor opts in. Gate the Clarity snippet behind consent — or use Clarity's own consent API: call clarity('consent') only after the visitor opts in.

CIPA § 631 Risk

Is Microsoft Clarity legal in California?

Q: Is Microsoft Clarity legal in California?

Microsoft Clarity is legal to use, but running it without obtaining prior visitor consent can expose a business to claims under California's wiretapping statute (CIPA § 631), which plaintiffs have applied to session-replay and tracking tools. Gating Microsoft Clarity behind a consent management platform addresses the risk.

Session Replay & Heatmaps · Updated 2026

Microsoft Clarity records session replays and builds heatmaps, capturing how visitors move through and interact with your pages. Using it is perfectly legal — but running Microsoft Clarity before a visitor consents is what creates exposure under California's wiretapping law.

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Why Microsoft Clarity can trigger CIPA claims

California's Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Penal Code § 631, prohibits intercepting communications without all-party consent. Since 2022, a wave of plaintiff-firm litigation has applied this decades-old wiretapping statute to website session-replay, chat, and pixel tools — arguing that capturing a visitor's clicks, keystrokes, and form input without consent is an unlawful interception. Clarity records session replays and heatmaps; replaying visitor input without consent has driven CIPA § 631 demand letters.

Statutory damages run up to $5,000 per violation, and plaintiffs argue each affected visitor session is a separate count — which is why even small sites receive demand letters.

Real-world enforcement

In a landmark action, the California Attorney General reached a $1.2M settlement with Sephora over its use of tracking technologies without honoring consumer privacy choices. Private CIPA suits over session-replay and chat tools have named retailers, healthcare providers, and SaaS companies alike. The common thread: trackers firing before the visitor had any chance to opt out.

How to make Microsoft Clarity compliant

Gate the Clarity snippet behind consent — or use Clarity's own consent API: call clarity('consent') only after the visitor opts in.
If installed via GTM, set the Clarity tag to require analytics consent.
Enable Clarity's masking (Settings → Masking → 'Mask') so text/inputs are not captured.
Re-scan with 'Verify fix' to confirm no requests reach *.clarity.ms before consent.

Consent-gating snippet

// Clarity supports a built-in consent signal. Load the snippet, but call:
//   clarity('consent');
// ONLY from your CMP's accept callback. Without that call, Clarity withholds cookies.
cmp.onConsent('analytics', () => window.clarity && window.clarity('consent'));

Microsoft Clarity's official privacy/consent documentation →

Check your own site

RegSentry runs a real browser against your site, watches exactly when Microsoft Clarity (and every other tracker) first contacts a third-party server, and captures the evidence — including whether it intercepts keystrokes typed into your forms.

Is this tracker on your site? Find out free in 30 seconds.

Real browser scan with evidence capture. No signup required to see results.

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