Hidden variables

You can use URL parameters to pass data into hidden variables in your Responsly surveys.
This lets you include information you already know in the survey link, personalise the respondent’s experience and get richer insights from results.

Hidden fields are available from the Professional plan.

What is a hidden variable?

A hidden variable is a piece of information passed through the survey URL.
It’s invisible to respondents but stored together with their answers. You can use it to track respondents, add context or personalise survey content.

Common examples:

• tracking the traffic source of a respondent (social media, website, campaign),
• passing information like name, email or customer ID,
• inserting hidden values inside your survey using answer piping (for example: “Hi $name”),
• prefilling form fields so respondents don’t have to type known details,
• sending UTM parameters to track marketing campaigns.

Create a hidden variable

1. Open your survey in Responsly.
2. Go to Settings → Hidden variables.
3. Click Add hidden variable.
4. Name your variable, for example email or name.
5. Save your changes.

You can add as many hidden variables as you need.
For example, if you want to track both the respondent’s name and traffic source, create two variables: name and email.

Add hidden variables to your survey link

When you publish your survey, copy the link. To pass hidden variables, add them as URL parameters:

• the first hidden variable starts with ?,
• additional variables are separated with &.

For example:

https://yourcompany.responsly.com/s/abcd1234?name=Jane&email=jane@example.com

In this case:

• the hidden variable name will be saved as Jane,
• the hidden variable email will be saved as jane@example.com.

You can add values manually or have them filled automatically by tools like Mailchimp or Salesforce.
These systems can insert values dynamically (for example {{email}}), so each respondent receives a personalised link.

Other examples:

• order_id=12345 → order number,
• client_id=67890 → customer ID.

Mention hidden variables in your survey

You can display hidden values directly inside your survey using answer piping.

Example:

• hidden variable: name=Jane,
• survey text: “Hi $name, thanks for your feedback.”
• what the respondent sees: “Hi Jane, thanks for your feedback.”

This lets you personalise the survey experience without asking respondents to re‑enter details you already have.

Every response is automatically linked to the right person — without forcing them to type their name or email again.