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Trackable Surveys

Create surveys that collect identifiable user data for administrative purposes.

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Written by Liv Rafferty
Updated over a week ago

Trackable Surveys

This article covers:

  • What Trackable Surveys are

  • The difference between Anonymous and Trackable surveys

  • How to create a Trackable survey

  • What employees see when participating

  • Frequently asked questions

What are Trackable Surveys?

Trackable Surveys are a type of survey created with the Survey Builder that allows you to collect specific, identifiable information from respondents alongside their survey answers. This is useful for administrative purposes such as:

  • Event RSVPs

  • Training acknowledgments

  • Policy sign-offs

  • Compliance tracking

  • Data collection requiring attribution

Unlike Anonymous surveys (which are designed for candid feedback), Trackable surveys allow you to link responses to specific user profile fields you select.

Anonymous vs Trackable Surveys

When creating a survey with the Survey Builder, you can choose between two modes:

Anonymous Surveys (Default)

  • Purpose: Gather candid, honest feedback

  • Privacy: No user information is collected

  • Results: Only aggregated data is visible

  • Export: CSV contains only answers (no user data)

  • Minimum responses for export: 5 responses required to protect anonymity

Trackable Surveys

  • Purpose: Collect measurable, attributable data

  • Privacy: Only the specific profile fields you select are tracked

  • Results: Aggregated data shown in-app; individual trackable data available via export only

  • Export: CSV contains answers linked to the user profile fields you selected

  • Minimum responses for export: 5 responses required

  • Transparency: Employees are clearly notified which fields are being tracked before they participate

Important: Pulse Surveys are NOT affected by this feature and remain 100% anonymous. Trackable surveys are only available with the multi-question Survey Builder.

How to create a Trackable survey

Who can do this: Organisation Admins and Content Moderators only

Step 1: Access the Survey Builder

  1. Navigate to the Admin Panel in Blink

  2. Go to Surveys

  3. Click Create survey

  4. Select Survey Builder

Step 2: Build your survey questions

Add your questions to the survey as you normally would using the Survey Builder interface.

Step 3: Enable tracking

In the survey configuration panel:

  1. Locate the "Enable tracking" toggle

  2. Switch the toggle ON

  1. Once enabled, a dropdown menu will appear

  2. Select which user profile fields you want to track

Available profile fields typically include:

  • Name (First Name, Last Name)

  • Job Title

  • Department

  • Location

  • Company

  • Custom profile attributes (if configured for your organisation)

Important: Only select the fields you actually need. Employees will be shown exactly which fields you've selected to track.

Step 4: Complete survey setup

  1. Add a survey name

  2. Select your audience (who should receive this survey)

  3. Set a due date

  4. Click Publish to launch the survey

What employees see

When an employee opens a Trackable survey, they will see:

  1. The survey introduction and questions as normal

  2. A clear notification at the bottom of the survey introduction screen listing which profile fields are being tracked


This ensures complete transparency so employees know exactly what information is being collected.

Accessing Trackable survey results

In-app results (Sentiment Analysis page)

The Blink admin dashboard shows aggregated results only for both Anonymous and Trackable surveys. You'll see overall statistics like:

  • Response rates

  • Answer percentages

  • Sentiment analysis

Individual trackable responses are NOT visible in the admin dashboard.

Individual trackable data

To access individual responses with the tracked user profile information:

  1. You must export the survey results as a CSV file

  2. Exports are only available after the survey's due date has passed

Important limitations

  • Cannot change survey type: Once a survey is published, you cannot switch it from Anonymous to Trackable (or vice versa)

  • App version requirements: Employees using older mobile app versions will see a message asking them to update their app before they can participate in Trackable surveys

  • Pulse Surveys excluded: This feature does NOT apply to Pulse Surveys, which remain 100% anonymous

FAQs

Can I make a Pulse Survey trackable? No. Pulse Surveys are designed for quick, candid feedback and remain 100% anonymous to encourage high participation. Tracking is only available in the multi-question Survey Builder.

What if I only track one field like "Department"? The exported file will show all responses linked only to the Department field. No other user information (like names) will be included unless you specifically selected those fields during setup.

Can employees see who else responded to a Trackable survey? No. Employees only see their own participation. Only admins with export access can view the linked data, and only after exporting the results.

Will employees know which fields I'm tracking? Yes. Employees will see a clear message listing exactly which profile fields you selected to track before they begin the survey. This notification appears at the bottom of the survey introduction screen.

Can I add more tracked fields after publishing? No. The survey type and tracked fields must be set before publishing and cannot be changed afterward. Plan carefully before launching your survey.

What's the difference between "Trackable" and "Non-anonymous"? "Trackable" is more accurate because the survey only tracks the specific fields you select, not the user's entire profile. It's not fully non-anonymous in the traditional sense.

Can I see individual responses in the admin panel? No. The admin panel (Sentiment Analysis page) only shows aggregated results. Individual trackable responses are exclusively available through the CSV export feature.

What happens if someone doesn't have data in a tracked field? If an employee's profile is missing data for a field you're tracking (e.g., they don't have a Department listed), that field will appear blank in the export for their response. The response will still be included.

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