How to Prevent Microsoft Forms Respondents from Seeing Other Responses
Question details
Users need a way to stop Microsoft Forms respondents from viewing other people's submissions when sharing form results.
- Product
- Microsoft Forms
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Sharing form submission results or quiz scores with respondents without exposing the entire dataset of all participants.
- Observed behavior
- Microsoft Forms summary links currently allow anyone with the link to view all collected responses, and there is no standard option to restrict viewers to only their own submitted answers.
Ensure you have owner or editor permissions for the Microsoft Form, as you will need access to the form's settings tab and the collected responses data.
Enable Automatic Results for Quizzes
If your form is structured as a quiz, you can allow users to see their own results immediately after submission without exposing other users' data.
This method is highly effective for choice-based assessments. By utilizing the quiz feature, Microsoft Forms natively isolates the user's view to their specific answers and score.
Navigate to your Microsoft Quiz, click the three-dot menu icon (More form settings) in the top right corner, and select 'Settings'.
Locate the 'Option for quiz' section and turn on the toggle for 'Show results automatically'.
Once enabled, respondents will see a 'View results' button immediately after submitting, displaying only their personal submission.
Export Responses to Excel and Share Individually
For standard forms lacking the automatic results feature, export the data to an Excel spreadsheet, filter it, and share individual files.
Stop Sharing the Summary Link
Prevent unauthorized data access by ensuring the general response summary link is never distributed to respondents.
Edit and Secure Your Exported Form Responses with WPS Office
When you need to export Microsoft Forms data to protect respondent privacy, WPS Office provides the perfect environment to filter and manage your spreadsheets. As a lightweight, highly compatible alternative to Microsoft Office, WPS Spreadsheet allows you to securely process .xlsx files without paying for a premium subscription.
- 1. Export Form Data: Click 'Open in Excel' inside Microsoft Forms to download your complete response list.
- 2. Open in WPS Spreadsheet: Launch WPS Office and open the downloaded .xlsx file to view the raw response data.
- 3. Filter by Respondent: Use WPS Spreadsheet's filter tools to isolate an individual's answers and remove the rest.
- 4. Save securely: Save the individualized file and safely email or share it with the specific respondent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I limit Microsoft Forms respondents to viewing only their own answers?
Microsoft Forms does not currently offer a built-in feature for standard forms that lets users view only their own submitted answers via a post-submission link. You must either use a Quiz format or manually export the data.
What happens if I share a summary link in Microsoft Forms?
Anyone who clicks on a shared summary link will be able to see a consolidated view of all responses submitted by everyone. It is not recommended to share this link if privacy is a concern.
How do I let quiz takers see their own scores automatically?
In your Microsoft Quiz settings, enable the 'Show results automatically' option. This allows respondents to see their score and individual answers immediately after they hit the submit button.
How can I request Microsoft to add an individual response view feature?
You can submit a feature request or upvote existing requests regarding individual respondent views through the official Microsoft Forms Feedback Community portal.
