The short answer
It can be. A form set to Anyone can respond collects responses without names, and so does a form for people in your organisation with Record name unchecked. With Record name checked, each response is saved with the name and email of the person who sent it. Even with names off, Microsoft warns that a question asking for personal details, the start and completion times, or a very small group of respondents can still tie answers to people. Check the setting, the questions and the export before you send.
Whether a Microsoft Form is anonymous comes down to two settings, who can respond and Record name, and to what the form asks. This guide sets out what each setting records, using only Microsoft's own help pages, and how to check a form before it goes out.
What each sharing option records
Microsoft Forms has three options for who can fill in a form. They decide who can answer, whether people sign in, and whether names can be recorded at all.
| Who can respond | Who can answer | Names and emails |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone can respond | Anyone inside or outside your organisation, with no sign-in | Not recorded: responses "automatically come in without names recorded" |
| Only people in my organization can respond | People in your organisation, signed in with a work or school account. Others cannot answer even if they have the link | Recorded when Record name is checked |
| Specific people in my organization can respond | Up to 100 people or groups in your organisation that you name | Recorded when Record name is checked |
The two organisation options are available to Office 365 Education and Microsoft 365 Apps for business users. With a personal Microsoft account (Hotmail, Live or Outlook.com), Record name is not available and the form collects responses without names.
What Record name does
Record name appears under the two organisation options. Microsoft describes it plainly: leave it selected "to record the name and email of each respondent". When it is checked, the form collects responses "with personally identifiable information". Uncheck it and names are not recorded with responses.
One response per person sits under Record name and stops anyone answering twice. It is offered only on the organisation options, where people sign in; an Anyone can respond form cannot limit people to one answer.
Set both before you share the link, so the first answers come in the way you intend.
Three ways an anonymous form can still identify people
Microsoft's own page on keeping names out of responses lists three ways a form can identify people even with Record name unchecked:
- A question that asks for personal details. "If one or more questions asks for personally identifiable information (such as a name) and your form responders provide it, names will be recorded." This includes an optional "Your name" or "Your email" field.
- Time stamps. Every response has a start time and a completion time. Send the form to people in different time zones, Microsoft notes, and "you might be able to match them with their responses" from those times.
- A small group. Send the form to "only a few specific people" and their answers can give them away.
Combinations of answers work the same way: a team name plus a job title plus years in the role can describe one person. The guide to creating an anonymous survey covers how to spot those combinations and why a minimum group of five before reading results is a sensible rule.
What the results and the Excel export show
When you open results in Excel, the first five columns are the respondent ID, the start and completion times, and the name and email of each respondent. Then come the answers.
For a form that accepts anonymous responses, Microsoft says names and email addresses "won't be displayed". The respondent ID and the two times are still there, which is why the time-zone warning above matters. Each response has its own respondent ID, so you can still look up one response without knowing who sent it.
How to check a Microsoft Form is anonymous before you send it
- Open the form settings and look at who can respond. For people outside your organisation, Anyone can respond is the only option, and it records no names.
- For an organisation-only form, uncheck Record name.
- Read every question. Remove name, email, employee ID and "optional" contact fields, and any question whose answer only one person could give.
- Count your smallest group. If a team or office has fewer than five people, merge it into a larger group or drop the question.
- Send yourself a test response, open the results in Excel and check the name and email columns are empty.
- Tell people in the form's description what is and isn't recorded, including the times.
Example: a team lead runs a quick pulse survey
Example
Say you lead a team of nine: seven people in Lisbon and two in New York. You want honest answers about a new on-call rota, so you make a Microsoft Form for people in your organisation and uncheck Record name.
Your draft asks for each person's office "so we can compare locations". With only two people in New York, any answer from New York points to one of two names. Even without that question, the completion times give it away: answers sent at 3 pm Lisbon time, 10 am in New York, are likely to be theirs.
You drop the office question, add a line saying the form records no names but does record when each answer was sent, and send it at the start of the New York day, when both offices are at work. You read the results only once at least five people have answered.
Anyone can respond or organisation only?
Both can be anonymous. Anyone can respond never records names, but anyone who gets the link can answer, more than once. An organisation-only form with Record name unchecked keeps outsiders out, even if they get the link.
For a staff survey, the organisation option with Record name unchecked is usually the better fit. For customers, readers or anyone outside your organisation, Anyone can respond is the only choice.
Where Asklet fits
Asklet is not a form builder for staff surveys: for those, Microsoft Forms with the settings above works well. Asklet asks short questions on the pages of your website, such as "Was this article helpful?". Readers answer without signing in, the widget sets no cookies, emails and phone numbers typed into comments are removed before saving, and you see the results per page.
Your next steps
-
Check who can respond
Use Anyone can respond for people outside your organisation, or an organisation option with Record name unchecked for staff.
-
Remove questions that name people
Names, emails, employee IDs, and any team or office small enough to point to one person.
-
Submit a test response and open the export
Check the name and email columns are empty, and remember the start and completion times are still there.
-
Say what is recorded
One line in the form description: no names or emails, but the time each answer was sent.
-
Wait for five answers before you read results
In a small team, early answers are the easiest to match to people.
Try these steps on your own site. Asklet adds the questions to every page with one snippet. Compare the plans.
Start freeCommon questions
Can the form owner see who responded to a Microsoft Form? Only if names are recorded: on an organisation-only form with Record name checked, each response shows the name and email of the person who sent it. With Anyone can respond, or with Record name unchecked, names and emails are not recorded. Answers and time stamps can still point to people in a small group.
Why is there no Record name option on my form? Record name appears only when the form is limited to people in your organisation, which needs a work or school account. With a personal Microsoft account (Hotmail, Live or Outlook.com) the setting is not available and responses are collected without names.
Does an anonymous Microsoft Form still record the time of each response? Yes. The results include a start time and a completion time for each response, and Microsoft warns that these can help match people to their answers, for example across time zones.
Can I stop people answering an anonymous form twice? Only on the organisation options: tick One response per person, which sits under Record name. A form set to Anyone can respond has no such option, so anyone with the link can answer more than once.