When running surveys that are similar or identical to ones you’ve launched before, you may want to ensure that each survey reaches a fresh sample. Excluding previous respondents allows you to prevent people who have already taken part in earlier surveys from being included again.
This is particularly useful for tracking studies, repeated research, or A/B testing where seeing multiple versions could introduce bias.
How respondent exclusions work
When respondent exclusions are applied, anyone who completed one of the selected previous surveys will be prevented from taking the new survey.
Exclusions can be applied to:
surveys that are currently live
scheduled surveys
closed surveys
Draft surveys cannot be selected, as they do not yet have respondents.
Automatic exclusions for trackers
If your survey is set up as a tracker, a three-month exclusion is applied automatically.
This prevents the same respondents from completing the survey too frequently and helps keep each wave representative of a wider audience over time. You do not need to configure this manually.
When to use respondent exclusions
Respondent exclusions are commonly used when:
re-running the same or very similar surveys
testing multiple creative assets and ensuring respondents only see one version
running repeated studies where fresh perspectives are required
As a general guideline, excluding respondents from surveys that ran six months or more ago is usually not recommended, as it can significantly reduce the available sample without providing much benefit.
Setting up respondent exclusions
Once your survey draft is ready, move to the Audience page.
From there, select Add exclusions. You will see a list of eligible surveys that can be used for exclusions.
Use the search bar to find surveys by their internal or external title. You can select one or more surveys to exclude respondents who completed them.
After selecting the surveys you want to exclude, review them in the Selected tab. When you’re happy, select Save exclusions and continue setting up your survey.
Things to be aware of
Exclusions reduce the available audience and can affect fill speed.
Combining exclusions with narrow targeting, quotas, or qualifying questions can significantly constrain feasibility.
Exclusions apply only to respondents who completed the selected surveys.