Backward Navigation

Allow respondents to change their answers to prior questions in link surveys by enabling backward navigation, which results in a back button showing in the Survey.

Overview

Backward navigation is a survey-level setting that lets respondents return to previous questions and change their answers while taking a Survey. It gives respondents a chance to correct mistakes or reconsider a response, which can improve the accuracy of the data collected.

Backward navigation is available in link Surveys, In-Product Surveys, and Feedback studies.

Backward navigation cannot be enabled for Surveys set to the Conversation format.

There a minimum SDK requirements for adding back navigation to In-Product Surveys and Feedback studies. See Features by SDK Versions for details.

Enable backward navigation

Backward navigation is off by default. To turn it on:

1. Create a new link Survey, In-Product Survey, or Feedback study, or locate an existing one
2. Switch to Edit mode
3. Go to the Settings tab and scroll to the Survey Navigation section
4. Toggle on the Allow backward navigation setting

The back button will appear in the preview once it refreshes.

You can turn backward navigation on or off at any time, including while a survey is live. Respondents who are taking the survey when you change the setting keep their current experience until they reload the page.

How backward navigation works

Supported question types

Backward navigation works with all question types. For Conjoint and MaxDiff questions, going back takes the respondent through each task they saw for that question, one at a time. It’s not possible to go back to the start of either of these question types in one click.

What happens to answers when a respondent goes back

This works the same way in all supported study types. A respondent’s previous answers are kept when they go back to earlier questions, so they can review their responses and move forward again without re-entering anything.

If a respondent changes an answer that affects the survey’s flow or question-generation, some later answers may be cleared. This happens when:

• The changed answer triggers different study logic, such as a skip or branch, so later questions may no longer apply.
• Later questions depend on the changed answer, such as AI Dynamic Questions or AI Follow Ups.

When this happens, the respondent needs to answer any affected or newly generated questions. If a respondent submits a different answer to a question they already answered, the new answer replaces the original one. Only the respondent’s final path through the survey is recorded in your results.

User experience changes caused by the back button

When backward navigation is on, some visual adjustments are made to certain questions:

• Centered forward buttons move to the right. Some question types normally display their forward button in the center of the content column. When the back button is present, the forward button moves to the right so the layout stays balanced.
• Questions without a forward button get one. Some question types, such as NPS, normally don’t have a forward button because selecting an answer moves the respondent forward automatically. With the back button enabled, these questions get both a back and a forward button to balance the user experience.

For questions that normally advance automatically, selecting an answer still moves the respondent forward. Because of this, the respondent may not see the forward button become active before the survey moves to the next question. This is expected behavior.

Limitations

For link Surveys, the back button uses the respondent’s browser local storage, so respondents can only go back within a single session.

If a respondent leaves the survey and later opens the original link again, in a different tab, or on different browser, the survey starts over. In that new session, they can only go back through answers they submitted during that session.

For link Surveys, if you’ve enabled the “Resume survey” option, opening a link Survey with back navigation on in another tab or browser will allow the respondent to pick up where they left off, with their previous answers in place, as long as they use their original link to the Survey.

Frequently asked questions

I enabled the back button, but it isn’t showing in my survey.

Check the following:

• The survey uses the Standard format. The back button is not available in Conversational surveys.
• You’re not on the first question. The back button never appears on the first question.
• In the preview, you may need to click into the preview or move to the next question before the back button appears.
• For In-Product Surveys and Feedback studies there a minimum SDK versions required.

A respondent went back and some of their later answers disappeared or changed. Why?

If a respondent changes an answer that affects survey logic, or that later questions are based on (such as AI Dynamic Questions or AI Follow-ups), the answers that may no longer apply are cleared so the respondent can answer them again. If a respondent uses the back button to take different paths through a Survey only their last path with be recorded.

A respondent closed the survey and came back later. Why can’t they go back to their earlier answers?

For now, backward navigation only works within a single browser session. Reopening the Survey link in a new tab, a new browser, or a later session starts the survey over. Once the “resume” setting mentioned above is released, navigating back to answers given in prior sessions will be supported.

Why does the forward button on an NPS (or Rating) question not seem to do anything? Why is it even there?

Normally these questions advance automatically when an answer is selected so they do not have a forward button. However, when backward navigation is enabled, the forward button is shown so the user experience is consistent. To advance forward the respondent can either select their answer or the forward button if their answer is already populated. Since the question moves forward automatically, the respondent may not see the forward button become active first.