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Erdo records passive observations alongside browser-form leads to help investigate traffic quality. Passive collection remains enabled independently of any optional form protection. The form submits as usual: observations add no checkbox, verification request, external reputation lookup, or waiting screen.

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What is recorded

The capture_observation column contains a JSON record with:
  • The server’s observation time, format version and observe mode.
  • The request’s user agent and, when available, a forwarded visitor IP claim.
  • For shared Erdo lead forms, time since the form mounted, counts of input events and browser-reported trusted input events, and the browser’s automation flag when available.
The observation contains no form field values, typed characters or pointer movements. Normal contact information is still saved in the lead’s usual columns.

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Read observations with their limitations

These are clues for an investigation, not a bot score or identity verification. Browser signals can be imitated or suppressed. The forwarded address is marked unverified_proxy_header: it is not authenticated evidence of a person’s address, and a shared or proxy address does not establish who submitted the form. Client status is reported, missing or invalid. Missing data can come from an older or custom form; invalid data means the observation did not pass format validation. Neither status rejects the lead or classifies the person as a bot. Fast completion, autofill, Gmail addresses and a lack of reply also do not establish automation on their own.

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Use the existing lead and execution records

Inspect capture_observation through the dataset’s row details or query tools. The event pipeline’s normalized execution preview retains each capture’s observation, including later form steps and retries. The dataset row follows its existing merge or overwrite policy, so use execution records to reconstruct the sequence rather than assuming the row describes the latest request. Historical captures are not backfilled. Shared-kit forms collect browser signals after loading the updated runtime; custom forms may have only request evidence. Observe mode withholds this column from automatic exclusion and paid-enrichment skip decisions, peer comparisons and arrival-email content. Existing decisions continue to use their existing evidence. Compare observations with actual sales outcomes before using them to design any filtering experiment. Observations do not enable Cloudflare challenges or phone verification. Optional lead form protection can separately enable Managed Turnstile for selected pipelines. It is off by default, retains these observations, and does not introduce IP-based ranking.