Why is there missing or incorrect tracking data?

ReelCrafter tracks listening activity in real time, but there are situations where data may be missing, duplicated, or show unexpected locations. Here's what to know.

Note: If something looks off in your tracking data, it's almost always due to network conditions, email scanners, or browser behavior. These are normal and don't indicate a problem with your account.

Jump to: Missing plays or events · Opens but no plays · Multiple sessions on the same link · Location looks wrong · Activity I don't recognize · Sessions that might be me

I'm missing plays or events

Nothing is wrong with your tracking. This can happen when the listener's browser doesn't complete sending data to our servers—usually due to connection issues or closing the tab mid-playback.

Common causes:

Network issues: If the listener's internet connection drops or is unstable, tracking requests may not reach us.
Tab or window closed: If someone closes the tab while audio is playing, we may not receive the final events (pause, stop).
Page reload: Reloading the page at just the wrong moment can interrupt a tracking request.

If you see a Play event with nothing afterward, the listener probably closed the tab mid-playback.

I see opens but no plays

Your data isn't broken. A session with "(no activity)" just means someone loaded your reel but never pressed play. Maybe they glanced at it, got distracted, or plan to return later.

To focus on real engagement, use the Hide sessions with no activity toggle at the top of Recent Activity. This setting will be saved in your browser.

I see multiple sessions on the same link

There's a reason for this. Several things can cause the same share link to generate multiple sessions:

Tabs left open: Browsers can automatically reload inactive tabs. Each reload creates a new session and may trigger an email notification if you have those enabled.
Returning later: The recipient came back on a different day or device.
Link reshared: Your recipient forwarded the link to someone else.

Tip: Name your share links after the recipient (e.g., "Netflix Music Supervisor"). This makes it much easier to understand who's actually listening, even if you see multiple sessions.

The location looks wrong

Your data isn't broken. We use a third-party geolocation service to determine location from IP addresses. It's generally reliable, but not always accurate:

VPN or proxy: The listener's real location is masked.
Outdated geodata: IP-to-location databases aren't always current.
Mobile networks: Cell carriers sometimes route traffic through unexpected locations.
Corporate networks: Companies often route internet traffic through a central office, so someone in Chicago might appear to be in New York.

Location is useful context, but naming your share links is a much more reliable way to know who opened your reel.

I see activity I don't recognize

This is probably a bot, not a person. If you see sessions from places you don't recognize—especially Ashburn, Virginia or other data center locations—it's likely an automated system.

Common causes:

Email security scanners: Many email providers (especially corporate ones) automatically scan links in emails to check for malware. This creates a session that looks like someone opened your reel.
Link preview scrapers: Apps like Slack, iMessage, or social media platforms may access your link to generate a preview image.
Clipboard apps: Some clipboard managers access URLs when you copy them.

We block the most common scrapers (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) from appearing in your dashboard, but we can't catch everything.

Ashburn, Virginia is home to major data centers for Amazon, Microsoft, and other cloud providers. Sessions from there are almost always automated scanners, not real listeners.

These sessions might be me

That's easy to check. When you open your own reel to test it, that creates a session too. ReelCrafter helps you identify these:

"Likely you" indicator: Sessions from your IP address show a special icon and tooltip: "This session was created by you, or someone with the same IP address as one of your recent logins."
Archive sessions: Click Archive session on any session card to remove it from your Dashboard. Archived sessions can be recovered later from Account → Archive.

Testing your own reels is a great way to understand how analytics work—just archive those sessions afterward to keep your Dashboard focused on real listeners.