Anonymous poll: which tools hide voter names and what the creator can still see
An anonymous poll lets people respond without revealing their identities to the poll creator or other participants. StrawPoll's anonymous polls do not request participants' names, and its free polls need no account. Slido supports anonymous participation on its free Basic plan, and Poll Everywhere lets presenters make an activity completely anonymous.
Written by BuyPollVotes editorial desk | Last checked
Anonymous poll link: what a link hides and what it collects
An anonymous poll link is, in Qualtrics' words, the URL used to take your survey, and anyone who clicks on it can take the survey. The creator pastes it into an email, onto a website or into any other channel; Qualtrics calls it suited to posting on websites and to cases where the participant's email address is not known. No login stands between the click and the first question.
What the link hides is the respondent's name. Qualtrics says it collects no identifying information such as a name or email address unless the survey asks for it. What it does collect is stated just as plainly: by default, the link records the user's IP address and location data based on that IP address. A name withheld and a trace withheld are two separate things.
Qualtrics also calls the link universal, one address that every recipient shares, and ties repeat submissions to its Prevent Multiple Submissions option, which the creator decides whether to use. An organiser who posts such a link publicly still needs a rule for how the resulting count is checked.
Where to find an anonymous poll online: tools and sites that state it
An anonymous poll free of charge is a documented option in more than one place. StrawPoll says it offers anonymous polls next to group polls, appointment polls and ranked choice votings, that participants' names are not requested, and that free polls need no registered account. Slido offers anonymous or named participation in all of its plans, the free Basic version included, and that free plan supports up to 100 participants.
Poll Everywhere lets a presenter set an activity to be completely anonymous; its free plan has no cap on polls and questions but limits each poll to 40 responses. PollUnit says its voting tool can be used completely anonymously, and Xoyondo says participants can vote anonymously. The route called "anonymous poll no sign up" has one documented example in the pages checked: StrawPoll's free polls need no registered account.
ADoodle.org describes itself as a website to organize an anonymous survey or vote in a very simple way. Deputy's group poll help and OpaVote's answers describe a setting and a default: Deputy has an Anonymous poll setting, and OpaVote states that all votes are anonymous. For a class or a team, the choice comes down to the participant cap and how the audience gets the link, since every tool on this list claims the same thing.
Email and names: how a code separates the address from the answer
An anonymous poll for email runs on a different mechanism from an open link. Anonyvoter says each person who votes is sent a random unique code to their email address, and that as part of the voting process the link between that code and the address is deleted. The address is how the invitation travels; the deletion is what separates it from the answer.
Qualtrics describes the open route. Its link can be pasted into an email, but the same link goes to anyone who holds it, so the survey collects no name or email address unless it asks for one. Where the creator has no participant email addresses at all, Qualtrics calls the link suited to that case.
The two routes answer different worries. A coded email protects the connection between address and answer; an open link protects the recipient list by never having one.
QR codes and text messages: two ways to carry the same link
A QR code is a picture that opens a link when scanned, and a text message is a channel that delivers one. Both are carriers. The hidden-name setting belongs to the page behind them, which is why no page checked documents an anonymous poll qr code as a separate feature and why this page names no tool for it.
An "anonymous poll via text message" meets a mechanical limit: a reply arrives from a phone number, and a phone number is an identifier. The pages checked describe link, email and code routes, and none describes answering by text, so who sees the number is a question for the tool's own help page. A poll text that sends people to a link moves the question back to the link and its settings.
Scanning a code from a poster and tapping a link in a message end on the same page.
The anonymous survey meme: why the joke lands at work
The joke is familiar: a workplace announces a survey with names removed, and everyone assumes the boss can still see who said what. The meme survives because the mechanics give it something to hold on to. Qualtrics states that its anonymous link collects the user's IP address and location data by default, and Deputy states that votes are visible to the creator and other team members by default.
Both statements are about defaults, and defaults are what a team reads before trusting the word. Deputy's Anonymous poll setting hides voter identities and removes the creator's ability to view who voted for what. Qualtrics collects no name or email address unless the survey asks for one, which is how a survey can carry no names and still leave an IP trail.
Office humour aside, the practical question for an HR team is narrower than the meme: which tool, which setting, and what the creator sees afterwards. A survey that records an IP address by default is one answer; a setting that removes the creator's view of who voted for what is another.
Who can see who voted: defaults, settings and what stays visible
Seeing who voted for what is the line between a named poll and one with identities hidden, and the documented tools draw it in different places. Deputy's group poll shows votes to the creator and other team members by default; with its Anonymous poll setting enabled, the creator can no longer view who voted for what. Slido offers anonymous or named participation in all of its plans.
OpaVote states that all votes are anonymous and that, by default, each vote is stored independent of the voters, so votes cannot be linked back to voters. Poll Everywhere leaves the choice to the presenter, with an activity that can be set to be completely anonymous. StrawPoll's anonymous polls do not request participants' names. The table on this page lines the tools up side by side, and the detail that separates them is what each one still records.
Running an anonymous poll live on a screen adds one check for the presenter: confirm that the display shows counts and not names before the audience arrives. Nothing in the pages checked describes the live display of any of these tools, so that check belongs to the presenter.
Forms, scheduling and chat apps: routes the pages checked leave out
The phrase "anonymous survey using google forms" points to a setting that no page checked describes, so nothing here states how Google's form tool handles names or accounts. The tool's own help page is the place to read it.
Discord and Reddit host votes inside their own apps, and each has its own page on this site, so no rule for them is stated here. Scheduling polls are a separate case and are not covered either.
In class, the same question arrives as a pop quiz: which tool shows a teacher the answers without the names. Slido's free plan supports up to 100 participants and Poll Everywhere's free plan limits each poll to 40 responses, which bounds the size of the class before any setting matters.
Anonymous counts and contest rules: what an organiser can still inspect
Where a contest counts a poll with names hidden, the organiser's published rules decide which responses stand, and the hiding does not change that. Removing names removes one thing an organiser checks, which makes the remaining evidence matter more: the counter, the log of responses, and whatever the platform records by default, such as the IP address and location data Qualtrics says its link collects.
Platforms carry their own rules and their own detection, and a count that looks fake to an administrator can be discounted, or the entry disqualified, under the organiser's rules. The pages checked describe no rule of that kind for the tools named here, so this page repeats none and states nothing about how any platform treats a particular count.
The creator or the organiser still sees the totals, and a platform that records IP addresses by default still holds them.
Five questions to put to any anonymity claim
The pages checked word anonymity five different ways, and five questions separate them.
A page that answers none of the five leaves the word doing all the work.
- Does the tool say names are not requested, as StrawPoll does, or only hide them from other participants?
- Does a setting hide identities from the creator too, as Deputy's Anonymous poll setting does?
- What is recorded by default, such as the IP address and location data Qualtrics lists for its link?
- Is one link shared by everyone, or does each voter get a unique code, as Anonyvoter describes?
- What cap on participants or responses applies to the plan in use?
| Tool | What the page says about anonymity | Other detail stated |
|---|---|---|
| StrawPoll | Anonymous polls; participants' names are not requested | Free polls need no registered account |
| Slido | Anonymous or named participation on every plan | Free plan supports up to 100 participants |
| Poll Everywhere | Activity can be set to be completely anonymous | Free plan: 40 responses per poll, no cap on polls |
| Deputy | Anonymous poll setting hides voter identities | Creator cannot view who voted for what when it is on |
| OpaVote | All votes are anonymous | Each vote stored independent of the voters by default |
| Anonyvoter | Voters want to be sure their votes are anonymous | Random unique code by email; code-to-address link deleted |
| Qualtrics | Anonymous link collects no name or email unless asked | IP address and location data collected by default |
| Xoyondo | Participants vote anonymously | Not stated in the pages checked |
How to do it
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Pick a tool that states anonymity
Slido supports anonymous participation on its free Basic plan, StrawPoll offers anonymous polls, and Poll Everywhere lets presenters make an activity completely anonymous. Choose by the participant cap as well as the word.
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Switch the setting on
In Deputy's group poll, turn on the Anonymous poll setting to hide voter identities. In Poll Everywhere, set the activity to be completely anonymous before sharing it.
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Share the link or code
Qualtrics says its anonymous link can be pasted into an email, a website or any other channel, and Anonyvoter sends each voter a random unique code by email.
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Check what the tool still records
Qualtrics collects the user's IP address and location data by default on its anonymous link, and collects no name or email address unless the survey asks for one.
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Read the results for what they cannot show
With Deputy's setting on, the creator cannot view who voted for what, and OpaVote says votes cannot be linked back to voters by default. Neither tells an organiser who sent a response.
Common questions
How to create an Anonymous Poll?
Creating an anonymous poll starts with choosing a tool that states anonymity and switching the setting on where the tool has one. Deputy's group poll has an Anonymous poll setting that hides voter identities, Poll Everywhere lets a presenter set an activity to be completely anonymous, and StrawPoll's anonymous polls do not request participants' names.
Are anonymous HR polls actually anonymous?
Anonymity in an HR poll depends on the tool and its setting, and the documented tools differ. Deputy's Anonymous poll setting stops the creator from viewing who voted for what, while Qualtrics says its anonymous link collects the user's IP address and location data by default. Reading those defaults before a team trusts the word is the practical answer.
Do voters need an account to answer an anonymous poll?
An anonymous link needs no voter account: Qualtrics says anyone who clicks the link can take the survey. StrawPoll says free polls are created without registering an account, which covers the creator. The pages checked state no voter-account rule for Slido or Poll Everywhere.
Can people see who voted for what?
Who sees whom is set by the tool: Deputy shows votes to the creator and other team members by default, and its Anonymous poll setting removes that view. OpaVote states that all votes are anonymous and stored independent of the voters by default. Slido offers anonymous or named participation on every plan.
Are Polltab polls anonymous?
The pages checked for this article do not state whether Polltab polls are anonymous, so no claim is made. Tools that do state it are named above, with the wording each one uses. Polltab's own help pages are the place to confirm it.
Is an anonymous link really anonymous?
An anonymous link hides the respondent's name but not every trace: Qualtrics says it collects no name or email address unless the survey asks, and records the user's IP address and location data by default. A name withheld and a trace withheld are separate things.
How does a coded email keep names and answers apart?
Anonyvoter sends each voter a random unique code by email and deletes the link between that code and the address as part of the voting process. The address delivers the invitation, and the deletion is what separates it from the answer.
Where these facts come from
- community.slido.com. community.slido.com/security-privacy-essentials-224/participant-privacy-choose-anonymous-or-named-participation-1609.
- help.deputy.com. help.deputy.com/hc/en-au/articles/13006057404815-Creating-a-group-poll-in-Messaging-Beta.
- anonyvoter.com. anonyvoter.com/FAQ.aspx.
- opavote.com. opavote.com/help/faq.
- qualtrics.com. qualtrics.com/support/survey-platform/distributions-module/web-distribution/anonymous-link/.
An anonymous poll cannot prove to an organiser that its count is genuine: names removed from a tally remove one check, and the organiser's published rules still decide which responses stand. This page names no tool as safe, states no price, and says nothing about who wins a contest.
X prohibits coordinating with or compensating others to inflate engagement metrics, and it names Polls among the features covered. The Pet Industry Business Awards name the consequence in their own contest: a business may be investigated, lose votes or be disqualified on reasonable evidence of purchased votes. No seller can stop an organiser from doing that.
Slido says it is alerted when an event gets an unusually high number of votes in a very short time, and Crowdsignal says its built-in measures detect patterns of potentially abusive voting. Ordinary participation arrives spread across the voting window, from different people at different moments. Nothing on this site is a method for getting a vote past a check, and a vote that a tool blocks does not count.
Organiser rules differ: the RSPCA Pet of the Year Awards allow extra votes through donations on their official mechanism, while OpenTable Australia treats a vote cast in exchange for money or a reward as null and void. Both are contest rules, not statutes, and whether payment is lawful where you live is a question for a lawyer. Orders are refused for any contest whose rules ban paid votes, and for political ballots.
Votes ordered for a poll that never appear on its count are refunded after the poll closes. A refund never covers an organiser's decision: Localsearch may void all votes for a disqualified nominee, and Mentimeter says a user whose access it cancels under its Acceptable Use Policy is owed no refund or compensation. No result is promised.