Ever wonder why users bail on your site, but can’t figure out what’s driving them nuts? Rage clicks are a dead giveaway. When someone rapidly clicks the same spot over and over, it usually means, “This isn’t working, and I’m about to give up.” If you want to catch these moments before users disappear, you need a system that surfaces them for you—without drowning in noise. This guide is for anyone who uses FullStory and wants to actually do something about frustrated users, not just watch session replays for fun.
Below, you’ll learn exactly how to set up rage click alerts in FullStory, what those alerts can (and can’t) tell you, and how to avoid the common mistakes that turn good intentions into alert fatigue.
Why Rage Clicks Matter (And What They Really Mean)
Let’s be honest: most analytics dashboards are full of fluffy metrics. Rage clicks, though, are actual user pain, captured in real time. They’re the digital equivalent of slamming a mouse on the desk. If you care about UX, you should care about rage clicks.
But here’s the catch: not every rage click means your entire product is broken. Sometimes people double-click out of habit. Sometimes a button just looks like it should do something, but doesn’t. The point is, rage clicks are clues—not verdicts.
Rage click alerts help you: - Spot broken buttons and dead links before users email in. - Find confusing UI elements fast (even the ones you thought were obvious). - Prioritize fixes that actually improve user happiness.
The rest? Ignore it. Don’t chase every single alert; focus on patterns.
Step 1: Check Your FullStory Plan and Permissions
Before you dive in, make sure you’ve got what you need:
- FullStory plan: Rage click detection is available on most paid plans, but if you’re on the free tier or a custom setup, double check. Some features, like advanced alerts, may be locked behind higher tiers.
- Permissions: You need access to the Settings and the ability to create Segments and Alerts. If you’re not an admin, ask whoever is.
Pro tip: If you don’t see the options described below, don’t waste half an hour clicking around. Ask your FullStory admin or support if rage click alerts are included.
Step 2: Understand How FullStory Detects Rage Clicks
FullStory automatically tracks “rage clicks” by looking for a cluster of rapid clicks in the same spot. You don’t need to code anything to get this data—it’s built in.
How FullStory defines a rage click (as of 2024): - 3 or more clicks within a small area - Happening in quick succession (think 1-2 seconds) - Tracked as a special event in session data
You can view these events in session replays, but for this guide, we care about surfacing them automatically.
What works: FullStory does a good job with obvious cases—jammed unresponsive buttons, broken links, or fake-looking UI elements.
What doesn’t: It’s not perfect. You’ll get some noise, like people double-clicking images or impatiently clicking through a slow-loading page. Expect a few false positives.
Step 3: Create a Rage Click Segment
Segments in FullStory are saved filters that let you slice and dice user behavior. To get useful alerts, you need a segment that captures the rage click events you care about.
Here’s how to create a basic rage click segment:
- Go to the “Segments” section in FullStory’s sidebar.
- Click “New Segment.”
- Add a filter:
- Choose “Event Type” > “Rage Clicked.”
- Optionally, add more filters to narrow things down:
- Page URL — Only alert on certain pages (e.g., checkout, signup).
- CSS Selector — Focus on a specific button or element.
- User properties — Exclude internal testers or bots.
- Give your segment a name: Something you’ll remember, like “Rage Clicks – Checkout Page.”
- Save the segment.
Honest take: If you just want to know about any rage click, start broad. But if you only care about critical flows (like sign-up or payment), filter aggressively. Otherwise, you’ll get buried in alerts for unimportant stuff.
Step 4: Set Up a Rage Click Alert
Now that you’ve got a segment, it’s time to set up an alert so you don’t have to keep checking FullStory manually.
To create an alert:
- Open your saved segment.
- Look for the “Create Alert” or “Set up Alert” button—usually in the top right.
- Configure your alert:
- Frequency: Daily or weekly is usually enough (realistically, you don’t need instant alerts unless you’re on call for UX fires).
- Recipients: Enter the emails or Slack channels for your team. Don’t send it to everyone—pick the people who actually fix things.
- Thresholds (if available): Some plans let you set a number (“Alert me if this happens 10+ times in a day”). Use this to avoid noise.
- Message: Add a clear, specific subject (“Heads up: Rage clicks on Checkout Button spiked today”).
- Save and activate your alert.
What works: Well-tuned alerts that go to the right people. If your dev team or product manager gets a clear, actionable alert, they’ll actually do something with it.
What doesn’t: Blast alerts to company-wide Slack or email lists. That’s how you train everyone to ignore them.
Step 5: Review, Investigate, and Take Action
Getting an alert is step one—actually fixing things is where the value is.
Here’s what to do when an alert fires:
- Open the alert and review the details.
- Watch a few session replays. Don’t just look at the event count. Watch real users get stuck.
- Look for patterns: Is it always the same page, button, or browser? Is it a real bug, or just confusing design?
- Decide if it’s worth fixing: Not every rage click warrants a sprint. Focus on high-traffic, high-impact areas.
- Document what you learn: If it’s a bug, create a ticket. If it’s a UX issue, flag it for a design review.
Pro tip: Don’t fall into the “alert → panic → ignore” cycle. Most teams get numb if they get too many alerts, so only act on trends or clear problems.
Step 6: Tune and Iterate
Your first setup won’t be perfect, and that’s fine. The goal is to catch meaningful problems—not to be the rage click police.
How to keep your alerts useful:
- Adjust segment filters if you get too many false positives.
- Change alert thresholds so you only hear about real spikes, not one-off clicks.
- Check in monthly: Are your alerts catching things you actually fix? If not, tweak or pause them.
- Rotate who gets alerts: If no one’s looking at them, they’re useless. Make it someone’s job (but not everyone’s).
What to ignore: Don’t try to catch every rage click on every page. Focus on the flows that actually affect your users’ likelihood to stick around or pay you.
What About Integrations? (And Why You Might Not Need Them)
FullStory supports integrations with Slack, email, and (on some plans) other workflow tools. In theory, you can pipe rage click alerts straight into your bug tracker or team chat.
Here’s the real talk: - Slack: Good for immediate visibility, but easy to drown out if you’re not careful. Use dedicated channels. - Email: Better for weekly digests or summary reports. - Jira/Trello/etc.: Only send alerts that are already actionable as tickets. Don’t create noise.
Unless your team is mature and disciplined with alerting, start simple. Fancy integrations sound cool, but they’re useless if everyone learns to ignore the bot.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
- Alert fatigue: Start with narrow, high-impact segments. Don’t alert on every rage click.
- Misinterpreting data: Not all rage clicks mean broken code. Sometimes it’s impatience or expectation mismatch.
- No follow-up: Alerts are only useful if someone actually investigates and acts.
- Forgetting to update: As your product evolves, so should your alerts and segments.
If you find you’re ignoring alerts, that’s a sign to prune or pause them.
Keep It Simple—And Keep Iterating
Setting up rage click alerts in FullStory isn’t rocket science, but turning them into real improvements takes discipline. Start with one or two key segments, set up alerts, and see what you learn. Watch a few replays, fix what matters, and tune your setup as you go. Ignore the noise, focus on patterns, and remember: the goal is to make your users less frustrated, not to make yourself busier.