Google Forms are a great way to create surveys and collect data, but some respondents may be reluctant to answer questions. Sometimes people give false answers for fear that the information could be traced back. The good news is that you can create an anonymous survey in Google Forms and preserve the integrity of the data.
Keep reading to learn more.
How to Create An Anonymous Google Form on Windows PC
If you are taking a test or survey in Google Forms on your Windows PC, you can enable the “anonymous” feature. This allows people to complete the form without signing in with their email addresses. Here’s how you can allow anonymous responses in Google Forms:
- Go to Google Forms.
- Create a new Google Form using a built-in template or create your design from a blank form.
- Once you have customized the survey, click the “Settings” icon in the upper right corner of the desktop.
- Navigate to the “General” tab and tap the “Collect email address” and “Limit to 1 response” checkboxes to deselect them.
- All changes will be saved automatically.
When you uncheck the “Limit to 1 response” option, Google Forms will allow anyone to submit responses, even people who don’t have a Google account. If you select the box, only people who are signed in to their Google accounts will be able to fill out the form. However, your responses will be anonymous when you uncheck the “Collect email address” box.
Before publishing the form, you may want to test it and see if it requires users to leave their names and email addresses. Fortunately, checking if the form is anonymous is relatively simple. These are the steps to do it:
- Visit Google Forms and find the survey you want to consult.
- Double-click the form to open it.
- Navigate to the top right of the desktop and click the “Submit” button.
- Press the link field and tap “Copy.”
- Open an incognito tab in Google Chrome. (You can use a different browser if you are not signed in to your Google Account.)
- Paste the link into the address bar to open your form.
- Complete the form and submit responses.
- Return to Google Forms in a tab where you are signed in to your Google account.
- Go to the “Responses” tab.
The “Responses” tab will not show personal information such as names and email addresses if the survey is anonymous.
How to create an anonymous Google form on a Mac
When you create a Google Form, respondents are asked to leave their name and email before answering questions. When they try to bypass the login page, they can’t get to the form. Name and email fields are usually marked with a small asterisk, which means they are required information.
Fortunately, if you’re using a Mac to create a form, you can enable the “anonymous” feature and remove the name and email ps. The following steps will help you do this:
- Open Google Forms from your browser.
- Create a new survey by selecting a built-in template or starting from a blank form.
- When you’re happy with the form and feel ready to continue, tap the gear-shaped “Settings” icon in the top right corner of the screen.
- Go to the “General” tab and click the “Collect email address” and “Limit to 1 response” checkboxes to disable them.
- All changes will be saved automatically.
The Google Form you created should now accept anonymous responses. After deselecting the “Limit to 1 response” checkbox, respondents without a Google account will be able to complete the survey without difficulty. Checking this box will only allow you to send responses to users who are signed in with their Google account. However, their identity will remain hidden since you unchecked the “Collect email address” box.
If you’ve never created an anonymous form before, you may want to test it out and make sure it allows anonymous responses. Here’s how to do it:
- Go to Google Forms and find the survey you want to try.
- Double tap the form to open it.
- Tap the “Send” button in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Click the link area and select “Copy.”
- Open an incognito tab in Google Chrome. (You can use any browser as long as you are not signed in to Google.)
- Tap the address bar and paste the link into it. This action will open your form.
- Complete the survey and submit responses.
- Open a new tab, sign in to Google and go to Google Forms.
- Navigate to the “Responses” tab.
The “Responses” tab will not generate information about respondents’ names and email addresses if the form is anonymous. Additionally, respondents are not required to enter personal data before completing the survey. Instead, the text fields are unmarked, meaning leaving personal information is optional.
Update your Google Forms and make them anonymous
Google Forms is a great data collection tool, but not everyone is comfortable knowing that their responses can be linked to their email addresses. Additionally, respondents who do not have a Google account are often excluded from these surveys. But you can avoid this problem by modifying your form settings and making it anonymous. To make sure it works, you can always test it before forwarding it to respondents.
