If you would like to evaluate Guides and Surveys, please reach out to a member of your account team or fill out this form to be connected with a Fullstory team member.
Who can use this feature?
- Part of Guides and Surveys, an add-on for Business, Advanced, and Enterprise plans.
- Requires an Admin role to configure. If you don't see this functionality, reach out to an Admin within your organization.
Guides and Surveys is in active development. Product functionality and documentation may change without notice.
Content Throttling lets you control how often autoplay tours and surveys appear to your users. By setting limits, you deliver important messages without overwhelming your audience or causing content fatigue.
Content throttling works alongside Content Priority, which controls the order in which content appears. Throttling controls how frequently autoplay content is shown.
This article covers the following:
- How content throttling works
- Setting up content throttling
- How the limits work together
- Frequently Asked Questions
How content throttling works
Throttling operates on a Limit + Time logic:
- Define a Maximum: Set the total number of times content can be displayed.
- Set a Renewal Period: Define the timeframe after which the counter resets.
- Automatic Pause: Once the limit is reached, all autoplay content is suppressed until the renewal period ends.
Example: If you set a limit of 10 displays every 2 hours, users will see a maximum of 10 items. After the 10th display, no more content will appear until 2 hours have passed from the time of the very first display.
Throttling applies to autoplay content only. Content triggered manually—such as by a button click or custom trigger—is not affected. See Triggering Content for more on manual vs. autoplay delivery.
Setting up content throttling
To configure throttling for your Space, navigate to Space → Space Settings.
You have two levels of control in Content Throttling:
General content limit
This applies to all autoplayed content, including both tours and surveys.
- Toggle: Enable General content limit.
-
Limit: Enter the maximum number of times any content can show (e.g.,
100). -
Timeframe: Set the renewal period (e.g., every
1day).
Separate limit for surveys
Use this to apply stricter limits to survey frequency.
- Toggle: Enable Separate limit for surveys.
- Behavior: When both limits are enabled, surveys count towards both counters. This allows you to set a high limit for helpful tours but a much lower, stricter limit for surveys (e.g., 100 tours allowed, but only 3 surveys).
Click Save Settings when you are finished.
How the limits work together
When both the General Content Limit and the Separate Limit for Surveys are enabled, they work together to create a safety net for your user experience.
The scenario
Imagine you have configured your settings as follows:
- General Content Limit: 10 times every 24 hours
- Separate Survey Limit: 2 surveys every 24 hours
How it plays out
- Surveys count toward both counters: Every time a survey is shown, it consumes one slot from your Survey Limit and one slot from your General Limit.
- Tours only count toward the General Limit: An autoplay tour will only consume a slot from your General Limit.
- The "First-to-Max" Rule: Whichever limit is reached first will stop that specific type of content.
Example timeline
- User Action 1: Sees an Autoplay Tour. (General: 1/10 | Survey: 0/2)
- User Action 2: Sees Survey A. (General: 2/10 | Survey: 1/2)
- User Action 3: Sees Survey B. (General: 3/10 | Survey: 2/2)
- Result: The user has reached their Survey Limit. They can still see up to 7 more Tours, but they will not see any more Surveys until the 24-hour reset.
- User Action 4: If the user sees 7 more Tours, they hit the General Limit (10/10). At this point, all autoplay content stops, regardless of the survey count.
Tip: Set your General Content Limit high enough to allow for helpful onboarding tours, but keep your Separate Survey Limit low (e.g., 1 or 2) to prevent survey fatigue and maintain high response quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can configure content throttling?
Content Throttling settings are in Space Settings and are visible only to users with the Admin role or higher. If you do not see this option, contact your organization's Admin.
Do surveys count toward both limits?
Yes. When both the General Content Limit and the Separate Limit for Surveys are enabled, each survey display counts toward both counters. Autoplay tours count only toward the General Content Limit.
What happens when a limit is reached?
Once a limit is reached, autoplay content of that type is suppressed until the renewal period ends. If the Survey Limit is reached first, no more surveys appear, but tours can still autoplay until the General Limit is also reached. When the General Limit is reached, all autoplay content stops until the counter resets.