Top 10 Myths About Online Surveys (From Someone Who Actually Knows How They Work)

I know online surveys inside and out. I worked for survey companies InboxDollars and Swagbucks (both Prodege-owned) for nearly ten years.

Online survey sites get a bad rap, and honestly, some of it’s deserved. But a lot of the hate comes from myths, misunderstandings, and unrealistic expectations.

Let’s bust the biggest survey myths with some insider truth bombs.

Get ready to learn more than you ever wanted to know about online surveys and expand your brain with niche and possibly useless knowledge.

1. “Survey sites steal your data.”

Nope. Survey partners running the studies collect structured data for market research, but apps like Swagbucks and Prime Opinion don’t keep or sell your responses. The data you provide is anonymized and collected in aggregate with hundreds of other participants.

2. “Survey sites disqualify you on purpose so they don’t have to pay you.”

Also false. Disqualifications (DQ) happen because you didn’t fit the market research criteria. Some surveys are for expectant moms, others for people with poor credit looking to buy a house. If you’re not the right fit, you’re out—it’s not personal.

When you DQ, companies like InboxDollars or Survey Junkie are just as irked. They only get paid when you do. When you qualify and finish a survey, they get paid, and then they share that with you as your reward payout.

• Also, if you get disqualified mid-survey, it’s usually because:
  
• Enough participants completed the survey before you finished, and there’s no more budget to pay out. The survey will DQ you immediately and show you other opportunities.
• You answered questions incorrectly or inconsistently. For example, if you answered “B” for every question in 20 seconds or said you were a male and then a pregnant female in different sections, that’s a red flag.
• Market research firms need honest, high-quality data—they’re using it to make multi-billion dollar decisions.

3. “They don’t need to make me qualify when they already have ALL my data.”

Super false. First of all, they have some data about you—like your age, gender, and location—but they don’t know everything.

Secondly, Survey Junkie or MyPoints isn’t “making” you qualify: it’s the survey provider that’s doing it. They create qualifiers to ensure they gather data in a structured, easy-to-analyze way.

They also need specific participants for specific research. A survey isn’t going to be open to everyone 18+ with a pulse. It’s usually targeting specific demographics, like men looking to buy a new Ford pickup truck within 60 days.

Also, some survey takers lie to qualify or rush through them, which screws up the data.

4. “I took thousands of surveys and never got paid.”

Pure exaggeration. To take 1,000 surveys, that would take 10,000 minutes—or 167 hours.

Most likely, you took the survey screeners or qualifiers and never fully qualified for the surveys. And again, the survey app has no control over that—it’s the survey provider that disqualifies you.

Survey apps hate this. If it were up to them, you’d qualify for every survey. They only get paid when you do. They spend money to attract and keep users, so if you’re having a bad experience with DQs, they lose members and don’t get paid.

If you reach out to support about your frustrations, they’ll probably offer you some goodwill credit. Seriously. Be nice.

5. “They banned me for no reason.”

Chances are, you broke the rules—probably unintentionally. Common reasons for bans include:

Using a VPN. If you’re taking a survey for U.S. residents, they need to verify your location. A VPN messes with that.

Taking the same survey multiple times.

Rushing through surveys. For example, answering 36 questions in 3 seconds isn’t going to fly.

Lying in responses. For instance, saying you’re a 20-year-old psychology student in one survey and a retired grandpa in another.

6. “Survey Junkie doesn’t want me to qualify.”

Actually, they do. They only get paid when you finish surveys. If you’re disqualified, they don’t get paid either.

Survey Junkie and similar sites have two customers: users who take surveys and the survey providers who need consumer data. If a survey provider is paying for responses and gets gibberish, Survey Junkie can’t charge them and might lose that client. That hurts both the app and its members.

7. “Cashouts take forever.”

This used to be kind of true, but not anymore.

InboxDollars used to require you to reach $30 before you could cash out, and payments were sent by check (super slow). But over the past several years, cashout thresholds have dropped to $3-$5, and some apps like Swagbucks let you cash out with just $1 (if you choose an Amazon gift card).

The first cashout might take a few days to verify your ID, but after that, it’ll be faster. It’s all about making sure you feel confident about your earnings.

8. “They want to steal my ID card information.”

Nah. You’re not that interesting.

For your first cashout or rewards redemption, the survey app needs to verify your ID for a couple of reasons:

1. They want to ensure you’re the person you say you are. They also need to comply with legal requirements like the USA PATRIOT Act (KYC, AML, and CTF) to prevent fraud.
2. The survey answers you give are anonymous. The survey provider never knows who you are—they’re just looking at trends across responses.

9. “Survey sites are a scam.”

Maybe, but that’s like saying, “The internet is a scam.” Sure, there are bad apples, but the majority of survey sites are legitimate.

When people call sites scams, it usually means they didn’t qualify for surveys or violated terms and conditions. If you create multiple accounts to game the system, you’ll run into trouble because survey companies want responses from one individual per household.

10. “You can’t make money doing online surveys.” 

False, false, false. 

But, surveys are a side hustle, not a full-time income replacement. You need to be realistic, or you’ll face disappointment.

With surveys, you can make a decent amount of pocket money. Many users make $1,000+ a year with sites like Swagbucks or InboxDollars, but it’s a slow build-up. Some days, you’ll make a quarter, but on good days, you might earn $10 or more.

There are many survey takers who use their survey earnings to fund entire family trips to Disney World – planes, airfare, park entry, everything. Check out my insider survey tips where I talk about members swagging their way to Disney and other major milestones.

Final thoughts: Are surveys a waste of time?

Surveys aren’t going to replace your full-time job, but they’re a great way to earn extra cash. If you’re looking for pocket money, join legitimate survey sites. 

If you want to get started, check out the 20 best survey sites for Amazon gift cards.