Is Glassdoor truly anonymous?

16 Comments

1. AnonymousDecember 9,2024 at 11:49PM UTC

   What is your end game? Scathing reviews are often viewed with a grain of salt, so the more you bash, the less effective viewers consider a review. Since writing such a post can be very therapeutic, it might be good to go ahead and write it, but let it sit for several days before you consider posting it to see if it has the same impact. If you are worried about being found out, then make sure you either don't post it or don't include anything that could identify who you are. There is always a chance that it can be traced back.

2. AnonymousDecember 10,2024 at 2:01AM UTC

   Traced back how? That is the question.

3. AnonymousDecember 10,2024 at 2:35AM UTC

   It is mostly from content from your post (naming names, departments, recognizing your writing style, etc.). I don't know if GlassDoor would give up any information regarding personal information. If the post contains proprietary or defamatory information, they can try to get it through legal channels (subpoena), which might reveal your location (from the IP address) or email (especially if they routinely require NDAs for employees). For this reason, it is best to keep it short and simple but still get your point across. Keep everything as generic as possible. Most companies won't take the time or expense to dig this deep unless there is some serious reason to do so. If you're this worried about repercussions, how important is it? If it scares you this much, is it worth it? I don't think getting back at a company would be worth my career, but that is me.

4. AnonymousDecember 10,2024 at 4:01PM UTC

   Agreed...something like writing style can be easily linked to an individual if your department/company is small enough. I've considered submitting a bad review about management. I basically wrote this long essay, sat on it for a week and just decided against it. What's the point? It was just time for me to move onto a different place.

5. AnonymousDecember 10,2024 at 5:49PM UTC

   I think you're making a lot of assumptions about the OP. Glassdoor feedback has been super helpful to a lot of people trying to make decisions about whether or not to join an organization. Most of us can read between the lines when it comes those "scathing reviews" based on the overall content of the post. Asking a question doesn't make her "scared". People want to know what other people have experienced or actually know to be true.

6. AnonymousDecember 11,2024 at 5:25PM UTC

   It was just the logical progression of the original post and responses. Assumptions had to be made due to the lack of information on why she was asking. She wanted to leave a post on GlassDoor about how horrendous (her words) her employer was, and when I mentioned being tracked, she wanted to know how. It was apparent she didn't want her former employer to know she left the review, which led to the assumption that she was afraid of something (lawsuit, NDA issues, repercussions, bad references). Fear is a normal survival response, so there is nothing inherently evil or harmful about it.

7. AnonymousDecember 10,2024 at 1:47PM UTC

   I'm reaching into the memory banks here. I think that generally, yes, they are anonymous. I seem to recall at some point either a company I was employed by or perhaps I read it somewhere tried to force Glassdoor to reveal identities (and now that I think of it, the company I worked for at that time wouldn't have gone to those lengths) and that was denied. And employer may try to figure out who has made what posts, but generally I don't think they are able to learn the identify (unless perhaps there was some sort of threat or something).

8. AnonymousDecember 11,2024 at 2:58PM UTC

   I'm going to disagree with another responder. There's an agreement with Glassdoor that would severly impact their integrity. We used Glassdoor and yes I have access to the current and past employees who provide feedback, however we do NOT have access to more. In fact, we don't want it. We want to holistically learn on how we can do better as an organization. IP Address shared, that would take down Glassdoor in business. It would need to go through legal avenues to secure and then that's money right? Post, don't post, you do you, but you have the right to feel heard, now, can you be professional about it, was it a 'company' issue or was it a 'people' issue. There's a difference. If that would help you move on, go for it.

9. AnonymousDecember 11,2024 at 6:08PM UTC

   Thank you for sharing. How do you have access to a list of employees leaving feedback? Are you asking them to do so? How would Glassdoor even have that list??

10. AnonymousDecember 12,2024 at 1:09PM UTC

    Apologies, clarity, I get the notifications of postings, NOT names.

11. AnonymousDecember 13,2024 at 11:17PM UTC

    Ah, thank you!

12. AnonymousDecember 11,2024 at 6:07PM UTC

    How would an external organization to Glassdoor get an IP address? I think they'd have to take legal recourse to do so.

13. AnonymousDecember 12,2024 at 5:53PM UTC

    No they cannot! GD prides itself on remaining anonymous and not removing posts even if the employer asks them to. Be forewarned if you post your role of any specificity about it being you, you may expose yourself to their legal department because defamation may be in you exit documents if you signed them. So tread gingerly and do post what is reasonable as warning for others. Also blind is a good site to use as well.

14. GirlBossanova934974December 13,2024 at 2:08PM UTC

    Glassdoor is anonymous. However if you divulge too much about your past surroundings and DIRECT fellow workers, it doesn't take a genius to figure out who you are. My take? ALWAYS change your Department where you worked and list yourself as a CURRENT employee. And wait a few weeks to write your review. With so many companies run by some very bad actors and actresses these days, Glassdoor is about the only direct way for the world to see these bad actors and actresses in action! They heed to be held to account. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, please be aware that these same bad actors and actresses will have their HR Departments writing up FAKE and PHONY reviews to offset negative reviews. You can always tell! 5 very bad reviews followed by this is the best to work in the world..........

15. Heather McDecember 13,2024 at 2:40PM UTC

    As I've moved along in my career, I've definitely used Glassdoor anonymously for reviews as well as in research for looking at new places to work. What I've discovered:

    Layoffs at companies create an influx of crappy reviews for employers, so keep this in mind if you see a TON of reviews for one employer in the same timespan.

    Treat several top rated reviews in a short time period as suspicious. I've worked for companies that made their HR staff post fake positive reviews because the company's reputation was horrible within the industry.

    When posting a review, keep it vague and fact-based. These are the reviews that are taken more seriously, in my opinion. However, if you get too detailed, you will be discovered and that can hurt your chances of being hired anywhere else.

    Rule of thumb: what you say online will follow you, and even though GD is supposed to be anonymous, if a big company wants to take them to court to find out who said what, they will. So disparaging and potentially libelous comments could be pinned to you when push comes to shove.

16. Olivia MartinOctober 22,2026 at 7:01AM UTC

    Had a good experience with UnitedPress.uk for Glassdoor review removal support; in my case, the review was removed within 12 hours.