Quick answer
A pulse answer is stored without any identifier that names you: a one-way code, derived on the server, lets you answer each period once and nothing else. Results are averages per question per period, and a period is withheld until at least five people have answered it. Comments appear only once that floor is met.
How answering once per period works without a name
When you send an answer the server computes a code from the pulse, the period and your account using a secret it holds. The database keeps only that code, so it can refuse a second answer from the same person in the same period without being able to say who the person is.
What the withheld rule protects
Averages over one or two answers are not averages — they are the answers. Withholding under five means a manager or an admin cannot learn how a small team, or one person, answered.
Frequently asked questions
- Can HR see who answered what?
- No. An answer carries no name, employee number or email — only a one-way code derived on the server so the same person cannot answer the same period twice. Nobody, including HR, can read a single answer; results are averages.
- Why does a period say "withheld"?
- Fewer than five people answered it. With a small number of answers an average could point at individuals, so nothing is shown until the fifth answer arrives. Comments follow the same rule.
- Is the floor configurable?
- No. Five is the product's floor for every pulse — the same default the engagement-survey module uses — and it cannot be lowered per pulse.
This guide also lives in the help centre at /help/sentiment/pulse-anonymity-and-the-five-answer-floor, which is its canonical home.