Hide Demographics from Restricted Users
Control which demographic fields are visible to managers and other restricted users in your survey reports.
Overview
Some demographic data — like salary bands, union status, or performance ratings — may be too sensitive for all report viewers to see. The Restrict Access setting lets Compass Admins hide specific demographic fields from restricted users while keeping them fully visible to HR teams and full admins.
When Restrict Access is toggled ON for a demographic field:
Restricted users (managers, executives with limited data access) will not see the field in reports, filters, heatmaps, or any other reporting view.
Unrestricted users (HR, full admins) continue to see all fields as normal.
Who Should Use This
Compass Admins managing survey settings and report access
Organizations with sensitive demographic data that shouldn't be visible to all report viewers
How to Restrict a Demographic Field
Navigate to Surveys and select your survey.
Click General in the left sidebar.
Select the Demographic Labels tab.
Locate the Restrict Access column on the far right.
Toggle ON for any field you want to hide from restricted users.
Changes save automatically — no need to click a save button.
You can restrict as many fields as needed. Repeat step 5 for each field you want to hide.
Understanding "Restrict Access" vs. "Hidden"
These two settings serve different purposes:
Hidden
Hides the field from all users, including HR and admins
When no one should see the field in reports
Restrict Access
Hides the field from restricted users only — HR and admins still see it
When only certain users (e.g., managers) should not see the field
Example: You want HR to analyze results by salary band, but you don't want individual managers seeing salary data in their team reports. Toggle Restrict Access ON for the salary band field.
Who Counts as a "Restricted User"?
A restricted user is anyone who has been assigned limited data access through the Assign Access feature. This typically includes:
Managers viewing only their direct team's data
Executives with access filtered to specific departments or locations
Users with full admin or HR-level access are unrestricted and will always see all demographic fields, regardless of this setting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this affect existing reports immediately? Yes. Once you toggle Restrict Access ON, restricted users will immediately stop seeing that field across all report views — dashboards, heatmaps, filters, and exports.
What's the default for new demographic fields? Restrict Access defaults to OFF, meaning new fields are visible to everyone until you choose to restrict them.
Can I restrict a field and hide it at the same time? If a field is set to Hidden, it's already invisible to all users, so the Restrict Access toggle has no additional effect. Use one or the other based on your needs.
Will restricted fields still be included in data exports for admins? Yes. Unrestricted users retain full access to all demographic data, including in exports.
Troubleshooting
I don't see the Restrict Access column
Make sure you're on the Demographic Labels tab (not General Information).
A restricted user can still see the field
Verify the user is actually marked as restricted in Assign Access. If they have full admin access, Restrict Access won't apply.
Changes don't seem to save
Refresh the page and check again. If the issue persists, check your browser console for errors and try a different browser.
I want to hide a field from everyone, not just restricted users
Use the Hidden toggle instead of Restrict Access.
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