If your business recently received a threatening letter claiming your website violates California’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), you’re not alone. Thousands of businesses across the country—many with no connection to California—are receiving similar demand letters as part of a growing wave of litigation targeting common website technologies.
Before you panic or reach for your checkbook, here’s what you need to know.
What Is CIPA and Why Are Businesses Being Targeted?
California’s Invasion of Privacy Act was enacted in 1967 to protect residents from wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping. The law was written long before the internet existed, but plaintiffs’ attorneys have found creative ways to apply it to modern website technologies.
The basic claim goes like this: when your website uses certain tracking tools—particularly session replay software, chat widgets, or analytics platforms—the plaintiff argues that their communications with your website are being “intercepted” by third parties without their consent.
These lawsuits target technologies that millions of legitimate businesses use every day to improve their websites, debug issues, and understand how customers interact with their products.
Red Flags That Suggest a Frivolous or Opportunistic Claim
Not all demand letters are created equal. While some CIPA claims have legitimate legal foundations, many are part of coordinated campaigns designed to pressure businesses into quick settlements. Here are warning signs that a demand letter may be opportunistic:
No attorney representation. Legitimate legal claims typically come from law firms, not individuals using personal email addresses. If the sender lists a Gmail, Yahoo, or other consumer email address rather than a professional firm domain, proceed with caution.
Template language and vague allegations. Mass-produced demand letters often contain generic accusations without specific details about what technology allegedly violated the law or when the supposed violation occurred.
Immediate threats with short deadlines. Phrases like “prepared and ready to file” combined with pressure to respond quickly are designed to trigger fear-based decision making.
Pro se plaintiff (representing themselves). While individuals have every right to represent themselves, a pattern of self-filed lawsuits against numerous businesses may indicate a serial litigant rather than someone with a genuine grievance.
Requests for “informal dispute resolution.” This phrasing often signals that the sender is hoping for a quick settlement rather than actual litigation.
Targeting businesses outside California. While California law can sometimes apply to out-of-state businesses, claims against companies with minimal California connections may face jurisdictional challenges.
Technologies Commonly Targeted in These Lawsuits
Understanding which tools are being challenged can help you assess your potential exposure. The following categories of website technology are most frequently cited in CIPA demand letters:
Session replay and behavior analytics tools record user interactions including clicks, mouse movements, scrolling, and form inputs. Popular providers include Hotjar, FullStory, Microsoft Clarity, Smartlook, Mouseflow, LogRocket, and Lucky Orange.
Live chat and messaging widgets that connect to third-party services are also targeted. This includes platforms like LiveChat, Intercom, Drift, and Zendesk Chat.
Advertising and retargeting pixels from companies like Meta (Facebook Pixel), Google (Analytics and Ads), Pinterest, and TikTok have been named in complaints.
Form analytics and lead capture tools that track how users interact with forms or capture lead information for third-party services may also draw scrutiny.
Heat mapping software that visualizes where users click and how far they scroll is frequently lumped into these claims.
How to Audit Your Website for Targeted Technologies
Before responding to any demand letter—or proactively to reduce your risk—you should understand exactly what tracking technologies your website uses. Here are practical methods to investigate:
Free Online Scanning Tools
Several free tools can analyze any website and reveal the tracking technologies it uses. These are excellent starting points for understanding your exposure:
Wappalyzer (https://www.wappalyzer.com/) Wappalyzer identifies technologies used on websites including analytics platforms, advertising networks, content management systems, and third-party scripts. Simply enter your website URL on their homepage for an instant analysis. The free version provides a solid overview, while their browser extension lets you check any site as you browse. This tool is particularly useful for identifying session replay tools, chat widgets, and marketing pixels that may trigger CIPA concerns.
BuiltWith (https://builtwith.com/) BuiltWith provides detailed technology profiling for any website. Enter your URL to see a comprehensive breakdown of analytics tools, advertising platforms, widgets, and tracking scripts. The free lookup shows current technologies, while paid plans offer historical data and competitive analysis. BuiltWith excels at identifying the full stack of third-party services your site connects to, which is exactly what CIPA plaintiffs look for.
Blacklight by The Markup (https://themarkup.org/blacklight) Blacklight is a privacy-focused scanner developed by investigative journalists specifically to reveal tracking technologies. Enter your URL and it will identify ad trackers, third-party cookies, session recorders, keyloggers, and Facebook and Google tracking. The results include plain-English explanations of what each technology does and why it might raise privacy concerns. This is arguably the most relevant tool for CIPA compliance because it’s designed to surface exactly the types of tracking that trigger these lawsuits.
CookieServe (https://www.cookieserve.com/) CookieServe scans your website for cookies and provides detailed information about each one, including which third parties set them and what they’re used for. This is helpful for understanding your cookie landscape and ensuring your privacy disclosures are accurate.
Browser Extensions for Ongoing Monitoring
Installing privacy-focused browser extensions allows you to monitor your own site and understand what visitors experience:
Ghostery (https://www.ghostery.com/) Ghostery is a browser extension that identifies and categorizes trackers on any webpage you visit. Install it in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge, then visit your own website to see exactly what tracking scripts load. Ghostery categorizes trackers by type (advertising, analytics, social media, etc.) and shows you which companies receive data from your site. This real-time view is invaluable for catching trackers you may have forgotten about or that were added by themes or plugins.
uBlock Origin (https://ublockorigin.com/) While primarily an ad blocker, uBlock Origin also logs blocked requests, showing you what third-party connections your site attempts to make. Install the extension, visit your site, and click the extension icon to see a breakdown of blocked and allowed requests. This can reveal tracking scripts that other tools might miss.
Privacy Badger (https://privacybadger.org/) Developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy Badger learns to block invisible trackers based on their behavior. Running it on your own site shows you which third-party domains are tracking visitors and whether they’re setting cookies or fingerprinting browsers.
Manual Investigation Methods
For a deeper audit, these hands-on techniques can reveal technologies that automated tools sometimes miss:
Browser Developer Tools Open your website in Chrome or Firefox, press F12 to open Developer Tools, and navigate to the Network tab. Reload the page and watch for requests being sent to external domains. Look for connections to known session replay domains like fullstory.com, hotjar.com, clarity.ms, mouseflow.com, and smartlook.com. The Network tab shows you exactly what data leaves your visitors’ browsers and where it goes.
Page Source Review Right-click on your website and select “View Page Source.” Use Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) to search for terms like “session replay,” “hotjar,” “clarity,” “fullstory,” “mouseflow,” “pixel,” or “track.” This can uncover embedded scripts that may not be immediately visible through other methods.
Google Tag Manager Audit If you use Google Tag Manager, log into your account and review all active tags. Over time, tags accumulate as marketing campaigns come and go, and forgotten tracking scripts may still be firing. Export a list of all tags and cross-reference them against your privacy policy disclosures.
Professional Website Audit Services
If your audit reveals complex issues or you’re unsure how to interpret the results, a professional website audit can provide clarity. A qualified Shopify or WordPress developer can review your site’s codebase, identify all third-party integrations, and recommend specific changes to improve your privacy compliance.
The Evolving Legal Landscape
If you’ve received one of these letters, there’s some encouraging context to consider. Courts have increasingly scrutinized these claims, and defendants are winning more cases.
Recent federal court decisions have narrowed how CIPA applies to session replay technology. Several courts have ruled that passive recording that only becomes readable after storage and reassembly doesn’t constitute illegal “interception” under the statute. Other courts have found that website operators cannot “eavesdrop” on their own conversations with users.
Additionally, California legislators have introduced bills that would exempt standard online technologies used for legitimate business purposes from CIPA liability when they comply with existing privacy laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
This doesn’t mean you should ignore a demand letter entirely, but it does mean the legal landscape may be more favorable to businesses than the threatening language suggests.
Practical Steps If You Receive a Demand Letter
Don’t respond immediately or make any payments. Take time to assess the situation rationally. Many businesses that settle quickly become targets for additional claims.
Document everything. Save all communications and note the date you received the letter.
Conduct an internal audit. Use the tools described above to determine what tracking technologies your website actually uses before taking any action.
Consult with a qualified attorney. Specifically, seek out a California privacy attorney with experience defending CIPA claims—not a general business lawyer. The cost of a consultation is far less than an uninformed settlement.
Check your insurance coverage. Some business liability or cyber insurance policies cover these types of claims. Review your policy and notify your carrier if required.
Research the sender. Search online for the plaintiff’s name along with terms like “CIPA” or “demand letter” to understand if this is part of a larger pattern.
Strengthening Your Privacy Posture Going Forward
Regardless of whether you’ve received a demand letter, improving your website’s privacy practices is good business sense. Consider these steps:
Implement a clear, comprehensive privacy policy that discloses what data you collect, what third-party services receive that data, and how users can opt out.
Add a proper cookie consent mechanism that obtains affirmative consent before loading non-essential tracking scripts—especially for users in California and the European Union.
Audit your tracking tools regularly. Remove any services you’re not actively using. Every unnecessary script is both a privacy liability and a drag on site performance.
Configure tracking tools to exclude sensitive data. Most session replay and analytics platforms allow you to mask form fields containing passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information.
Keep records of your privacy practices including when you implemented consent mechanisms, what disclosures you provide, and how users can exercise their rights.
When to Take These Claims Seriously
While many CIPA demand letters are opportunistic, the underlying privacy concerns are real. If your website captures sensitive user data without clear disclosure, transmits personal information to numerous third parties without consent, or lacks any privacy policy at all, you may have genuine compliance issues worth addressing—regardless of any legal threat.
The goal isn’t just to avoid lawsuits. It’s to build trust with your customers by respecting their privacy and being transparent about your data practices.
The Bottom Line
Receiving a threatening legal demand is stressful, but understanding the context can help you respond appropriately. Many of these letters are part of mass campaigns hoping businesses will pay quickly to make the problem go away. With proper legal guidance and a clear understanding of your website’s actual technology stack, you can make an informed decision about how to proceed.
If you’re unsure what tracking technologies your Shopify or WordPress website uses, or if you need help implementing proper privacy disclosures and consent mechanisms, a qualified web development partner can help you audit your site and strengthen your compliance posture.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you’ve received a demand letter or lawsuit, consult with a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.
