Tiny Tip Tuesday #42

Geolocation Collection: Best Practices

As you're aware, the geolocation feature in Zoho Survey helps you precisely determine your respondent's physical location. The respondent's browser coordinates are captured from the first page of the survey, with their consent.

However, as it's a matter of privacy, it's ideal to keep these best practices in mind while capturing geolocation information from your respondents:

Make sure you've clearly mentioned the need for collecting the geolocation information in the terms and conditions or the informed consent form. Explain in detail how it benefits you and the respondents.
Make sure you obtain consent to gather the geolocation details before they take the survey.
Do not surprise respondents with a geolocation question unless you have mentioned it elsewhere in the consent form.
If the geolocation data is critical, encourage people to take the survey on their mobile phones. Mobile users tend to give consent for geolocation capture more readily than non-mobile users.
The geolocation accuracy may vary for web browsers that use the database of WiFi access point locations (based on where they have database coverage). It could also look inaccurate if they are connected to the VPN. GPS receivers are generally far more accurate.

Have you tried the geolocation feature yet? Have any other best practices for geolocation collection? Let us know in the comments.