Survey results leaked: what it means and what to do

Risk level: medium. Can you change it: no. Found in 2 breaches in this directory.

What this data is

Your answers to market research, customer feedback, political polls, health questionnaires, workplace surveys or quizzes, sometimes linked to your name or email address.

The risk on its own

The risk depends on the questions. A product satisfaction score is harmless, while answers about health, income, politics, sexuality or workplace concerns can be sensitive. Many people answer surveys candidly because they assume responses are anonymous.

The risk combined with other data

With your name, email address or employer, survey answers can be used for profiling, embarrassment or retaliation. Scammers can create tailored offers based on stated needs or worries. Workplace survey leaks can expose complaints you expected to remain confidential.

How criminals use it

  • A health survey answer about weight or anxiety leads to targeted fake treatment offers.
  • A confidential workplace survey complaint is linked to your name and shared with management.
  • Political or social views from a poll are used for harassment or manipulation.
  • A fake prize survey follow up asks for card details to claim a reward.

What to do now

  1. Ask the organisation what surveys and answers were exposed.
  2. If workplace survey data leaked, report any retaliation to HR, your union or an employment advisor.
  3. Ignore survey reward messages that ask for payment details or login information.
  4. Request deletion of old survey responses where privacy laws allow it.

Frequently asked questions

Were my survey answers supposed to be anonymous?

Check the survey terms. Some are anonymous, but many are linked to email or panel IDs.

Can my employer use leaked survey answers against me?

Retaliation may be unlawful depending on your location and the issue raised. Seek advice if it happens.

Are survey prize messages safe?

Be cautious. Legitimate surveys do not ask you to pay fees or enter full card details to claim a prize.

Breaches that exposed this data

  • QuestionPro: 2022-05-21, 22M accounts, Browser user agent details, Email addresses, IP addresses, Survey results
  • Bell (2017 breach): 2017-05-15, 2.2M accounts, Email addresses, Geographic locations, IP addresses, Job titles, Names, Passwords

Tools that help

Related guides

Breach data sourced from Have I Been Pwned, used under CC BY 4.0. Additional breach metadata provided by XposedOrNot. DataExposed is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.