At Trickle, we understand that speaking up isn't always easy, which is why our platform offers users optional anonymity. Whether from negative past experiences, or a belief their role means their input won’t be valued, people can be hesitant to speak up openly for fear of being judged poorly or facing repercussions.

Providing people with the choice to post anonymously can give them a strong sense of psychological safety and the confidence to share their true sentiment about challenges or opportunities at work.

Protecting the anonymity of people posting content on our platform is absolutely key to the core values of everyone at Trickle. Therefore there are no tools within the Trickle platform that would allow any person within your organisation to find out the identity of anonymous posters. You can read our Anonymity Promise here and watch our short Anonymity Uncovered video below.

You can choose to be anonymous by clicking the "post anonymously" box when you raise or comment on a Trickle:

When you post your Trickle or comment, you will appear on the activity feed under an animal pseudonym (eg. cloaked leopard or secret squirrel). If you contribute further to this Trickle conversation and wish to remain anonymous, you will appear as this animal pseudonym.

You cannot be identified from this pseudonym - see our Anonymity Promise for further information on this.

When you vote on a MoodSense or complete your How was your day? wellbeing tracker, your answers are always anonymous.

When you send a Flare, your message is automatically set to anonymous. You can untick the "post anonymously" button to send a Flare as yourself.

Anonymous activity limits are set on Trickle - here's how the limits work:

Each user can make 1 anonymous post per week.

If you don't use your weekly post, it's saved for later. You can save up to 5 posts this way. So, if you haven't posted anonymously for 4 weeks, you could make 5 anonymous posts in the 5th week.

We keep track of your posts with a counter, kind of like a savings account. Each week, you get 1 more post added to your "account", up to a maximum balance of 5.

If you use up all your saved posts, you'll have to wait until the next week to post anonymously again.

💡 Top Tip: New users get a special start: they can make up to 5 anonymous posts right away!

Each user can make 10 anonymous comments per day.

If you don't use all your daily comments, they're saved for later. You can save up to 25 anonymous comments this way. So, if you haven't commented anonymously for a few days you'll be able to make up to 25 anonymous comments before hitting the limit.

We keep track of your comments with a counter, kind of like a savings account. You will be awarded 10 new comments per day, individually replenished over the course of the day, up to a maximum balance of 25.

If you use up all your saved comments, you'll have to wait a bit for your account to refill before you can comment anonymously again.

💡 Top Tip: New users get a special start: they can make up to 25 anonymous comments right away!

💡 We share the above information with your employer so that they understand how people within your organisation are feeling about important topics and engaging with Trickle - they can then be proactive about responding to your contributions and making decisions to drive workplace improvements.

If an admin identifies a specific anonymous post or comment that violates the organisation’s community guidelines, they can temporarily suspend the users anonymity.

The user can continue using the app, posting and commenting, but not under an anonymous pseudonym.

The first time a user's anonymity is suspended, the "ban" lasts for a week. However, if the same user continues to violate the guidelines repeatedly, the duration of their ban will progressively increase.

We hope this answers all your queries on how anonymity works on the platform - psychological safety is a priority for us here at Trickle!

If you need any further support around this, please contact our Customer Wellbeing Team via the in-app Help Centre. And if you want to see more information on Trickle's privacy policy visit: https://trickle.works/privacy-policy/.