Recently Viewed Products

Goal

Record which products a visitor has looked at and show them again. Views are stored server-side against the signed-in user, or against a cookie-held session ID for guests, so the list survives across devices for an account and across pages for a guest.

Tier and entitlement

Field	Value
Tier	Premium
Entitlement key	recently-viewed
Admin tab	recently-viewed
Module key	recently-viewed
Settings prefix	aiowc_rv_

Hooks register only when aiowc_module_enabled_recently-viewed is true and the licence permits the recently-viewed entitlement.

What the code does

• A view is recorded on template_redirect when a single product page is rendered, and can also be recorded through a REST call.
• Signed-in users are tracked by user ID. Guests are tracked by an anonymous session ID held in the aiowc_rv_sid cookie, and only when anonymous_tracking is on.
• The list renders after the single product template, and anywhere through a shortcode.
• The visitor can clear their own list.
• The shop can see the most-viewed products over a period.
• A daily job prunes view rows older than 90 days. The retention window is a constant in Jobs/CleanupJob.php, not a setting.

Settings

Unlike most modules, all five values are stored together in one array option, aiowc_rv_settings, read through RecentlyViewedModule::getAllSettings() and merged over DEFAULTS. An update only accepts keys that exist in DEFAULTS and casts each to the type of its default.

Setting	Default	Meaning	Consumed
enable_tracking	true	Master switch for recording and displaying views	Yes — both the tracking and display services
max_products	10	How many products the list shows	Yes — the display service, with a floor of 1
anonymous_tracking	true	Whether guests are tracked by cookie	Yes — the display service falls back to the cookie list only when on
show_on_account	true	Intended to place the list on the My Account page	No — the key is declared but never read as a condition, and no account hook exists
show_on_homepage	true	Intended to place the list on the homepage	No — the key is declared but never read as a condition, and no homepage hook exists

The list appears in exactly two places: after the single product template, and wherever the shortcode is placed.

Admin screen

Admin tab recently-viewed. It shows the most-viewed products over a chosen number of days and the settings above.

Database schema

Created by Schema/RecentlyViewedSchema.php at schema version 1.0.0.

Table	Holds
{prefix}aiowc_product_views	One row per product view, keyed by user ID or anonymous session ID

REST endpoints

Namespace aiowc/v1. All responses use the shared envelope.

Method	Path	Purpose	Required args	Permission
POST	/viewed/track	Record a product view	product_id	Public write check
GET	/viewed/recent	The caller's recently viewed products, up to limit	—	Rate-limited public read
POST	/viewed/clear	Clear the caller's list	—	Public write check
GET	/viewed/admin/top	Most-viewed products over days, up to limit	—	Manage
GET	/viewed/settings	Read settings	—	Manage
POST	/viewed/settings	Update settings	—	Manage

WooCommerce and WordPress integration

Hook	Priority	Effect
template_redirect	default	Records a view when a single product page loads
woocommerce_after_single_product	20	Renders the recently viewed list

Shortcode

Shortcode	Purpose
[aiowc_recently_viewed]	Renders the recently viewed list

No block is registered, and the module hooks no order, cart or email action.

Background jobs

Hook	Schedule	Purpose
aiowc_views_cleanup	Daily, on the WordPress cron scheduler	Prunes view rows older than 90 days

Privacy note

Guest tracking writes a cookie (aiowc_rv_sid) and stores a row per product view. Turning anonymous_tracking off stops the guest fallback.

Entitlement limits

The recently-viewed entitlement gates the module as a whole. max_products is a display setting, not a licence limit, and no cap on stored view rows is implemented beyond the 90-day cleanup.

Related documentation

• Module Architecture