How to send captured traffic to your First Party Domain using Custom Endpoints

Introduction

Custom Endpoints is a powerful feature that empowers organizations to send digital experience data from their websites and applications to Fullstory using their own first-party domain. By doing so, organizations can overcome the challenges posed by ad- and tracker-blocking browser extensions while ensuring the accuracy of their data.

Custom Endpoints represents the SaaS industry-standard mechanism for customers to use first-party domains, when their applications communicate with third-party SaaS providers, whereby they merely configure DNS without the burden of hosting additional infrastructure.

In this guide, we will outline the steps to set up Custom Endpoints through Fullstory's provisioning process, from specifying the hostname to adjusting your snippet or variables for seamless data collection and analysis.

By following the steps below, organizations can successfully set up Custom Endpoints with Fullstory. It's important to ensure that these configurations are done correctly and in compliance with any relevant privacy regulations.

Data captured from your site is Your Data

The Fullstory mission is about empowering companies to use data to improve the online experience for their customers. Fullstory runs on your site or app, storing and processing information about real customers, who would like to use your product or service to do things they care about.

This raw data captured from your digital property belongs to you, not Fullstory.

Fullstory Custom Endpoints provides our customers with a way to help cement this notion of first-party data ownership in the minds of their end-users by routing Fullstory traffic through their own domain. Legitimizing Fullstory traffic in this way has many benefits to both end-user perception and site security.

Note: It is not the goal of Custom Endpoints to hide or obscure the use of Fullstory from end-users and we do not intend to develop functionality for this purpose. It is important that your privacy policy is up to date and that end-users are properly informed of your data collection practices. Also, please note that usage of Custom Endpoints may impact some consumer’s Global Privacy Controls (GPC). Please work with your privacy or legal team to understand your legal requirements regarding GPC and general consumer opt-outs.

Setting up Custom Endpoints

To set up Custom Endpoints with Fullstory, organizations need to follow a specific provisioning process, which typically involves the following steps:

1. Specify the Hostname: In the initial setup, you will need to specify the hostname you wish to use for sending data to Fullstory. It is advisable not to include terms like "fullstory" or "relay" in the hostname, as some ad and tracker blocker extensions may attribute such terms to Fullstory. Instead, you might choose something like "insights.yourdomain.com" or "dx.yourdomain.com."
2. Fullstory Provisioning: Reach out to us to request provisioning in our systems. Fullstory's provisioning process usually takes between 24 to 48 hours. At the conclusion of this process, Fullstory will provide you with an IP address to use in your DNS (Domain Name System) configuration.
3. DNS Configuration: You will need to create an (A) record in your domain zone file that points the hostname you selected to the IP address provided by Fullstory. This step may require collaboration with your IT or networking team, as it involves making changes to your domain's DNS settings.
   Note: This step is time-sensitive. The DNS record must be configured within approximately 72 hours to ensure successful application of the secure SSL/TLS certificate in the next step.
4. Certificate Application: Once Fullstory's system detects that the DNS record has been added, which typically occurs within approximately 30 minutes, Fullstory will apply a secure SSL/TLS certificate for your chosen hostname.
5. Snippet Adjustment: After receiving confirmation from Fullstory that the certificate has been applied, you will need to adjust your website or application snippet accordingly. If you're not using a snippet, you may need to modify your variables to include the new hostname provided during the setup. Don't worry, we'll provide clear instructions on how to make these adjustments.

Key Differences from Fullstory Relay

It's important to note that Custom Endpoints differs from Fullstory Relay in a key aspect: while Fullstory Relay introduces a new host into the data flow, Custom Endpoints does not. Consequently, Custom Endpoints does not offer the ability to perform extra customer-specified processing, such as scrubbing, logging, or manipulating the data, prior to being sent to Fullstory.

On the flip side, Custom Endpoints does not require organizations to maintain any infrastructure to keep its operation up to date. This distinction makes it a suitable choice for organizations seeking a streamlined and hassle-free approach to collecting digital experience data while bypassing browser extensions' blocking mechanisms.