How to Authenticate Survey Respondents in Porsline

Some surveys, forms and online tests should be available only to a defined group of people.

With Respondent Authentication in Porsline, you can require respondents to verify their access before they see the questions. This helps you control who can participate and whether each authentication detail may be used once or several times.

In this video, we introduce the available authentication methods and show where each option can support a controlled data-collection workflow.

Control Who Can Access Your Survey

A public survey link can be opened by anyone who receives it.

That may be suitable for open customer surveys or public feedback forms, but other projects require more control over participation.

Respondent Authentication can be useful when:

• Only selected employees should complete an internal survey
• A research project has a predefined participant list
• Students must verify their identity before an online exam
• A registration form accepts only approved participants
• Each respondent should submit only once
• The survey owner needs to associate access credentials with responses

Authentication takes place before the respondent reaches the survey questions.

What You Will See in This Video

The video introduces the main Respondent Authentication options in Porsline, including:

• Restricting access with uploaded or predefined codes
• Verifying respondents through SMS and a one-time password
• Controlling access through approved email addresses or patterns
• Allowing credentials to be used once or several times
• Uploading additional access lists without retaining duplicates
• Choosing whether authentication information appears in the results
• Adding a short message before respondents enter the form

The video is designed to explain what each method does and where it may be useful. Detailed configuration steps and troubleshooting will be covered separately in the Porsline Help Centre.

Choose from Three Authentication Methods

Porsline provides three Respondent Authentication methods.

Code authentication

Respondents enter a valid code before accessing the form, such as an employee ID, student number, or registration code. This is useful when you already have a predefined list of participants.

SMS authentication

Respondents enter their mobile number and receive a one-time password by SMS. You can also limit access to approved numbers only.

Email authentication

Respondents verify access using their email address. You can restrict access to specific emails or domains depending on your organisation’s needs.

The best method depends on the type of identifier you already have for your respondents.

Use Authentication for Employee Surveys

Employee feedback may need to be limited to a specific workforce, department or selected group.

For example, an organisation may use personnel codes to ensure that only current employees can enter an engagement survey or internal assessment.

Respondent Authentication therefore complements Porsline’s broader employee survey solution, which supports employee feedback, performance evaluations, recruitment assessments and training surveys.

Before activating authentication, decide whether your project needs identifiable responses or an anonymous experience for approved participants.

Restrict Access to Online Tests and Exams

Authentication is also valuable when an online test should be completed only by registered students, applicants or employees.

A student ID, applicant code, approved mobile number or institutional email address can be used to control entry before the questions appear.

Combined with our online quiz and test maker, authentication can support placement tests, recruitment assessments, employee training exams and other controlled evaluations.

It is important to distinguish authentication from automatic grading. Authentication controls who may enter the test, while scoring and Online Testing Mode manage answers, grades and results.

Decide Whether Respondent Identity Should Be Visible

Authentication does not always mean that the survey owner must see who submitted each response.

For code, SMS and email methods, you can decide whether the authentication information should appear in the Results Table.

When authentication details are visible, the response can be associated with the code, mobile number or email used to enter the survey.

When those details are hidden, they are not stored with the response, so the survey owner cannot identify the respondent from the authentication information.

Choose this setting before launching the survey and explain the intended level of confidentiality clearly to participants.

Start Building a Controlled Survey Experience

Respondent Authentication helps you move from an open survey link to a controlled participation process.

Before choosing a method, confirm:

• Who should be allowed to participate
• Which identifier is already available
• Whether each credential should work once or several times
• Whether respondent identity should appear in the results
• How participants will receive their code or verification information

Create your free Porsline account to explore Respondent Authentication before publishing your survey, form or online test.