Bonusboy
Why do surveys keep screening me out?
If you have opened five surveys in a row and every one of them ended after a few questions, nothing is wrong with your phone or your account. Screening out is the most common result of a paid survey everywhere, and this page explains why, and what you can do about it.
Who decides, and why it happens
A survey is bought by a company that wants opinions from a specific group: parents of toddlers, people who changed phone carrier this year, drivers in one region. The research partner (on Bonusboy that is CPX Research, TheoremReach or RapidoReach) asks opening questions to check whether you belong to that group. If not, the survey ends and nobody gets paid. Common reasons:
- Quota already full. The study needed 200 women aged 25 to 34 and already has them.
- You are not the target. The product or behaviour the study is about does not apply to you.
- Country or region mismatch. Some studies only accept certain regions or cities.
- Inconsistent answers. If your age or job differs from what you said in an earlier survey, partners drop you to protect data quality.
- Speed and attention checks. Clicking through too fast, or missing a "select the third option" trap, ends the survey.
What a screen-out looks like in the app's numbers
The rate depends on where you live and on the partner, because every study has its own quotas and its own price by country. That is why the same survey can show a higher number in one country than in another.
Five habits that raise your completion rate
- Pick the short ones first. A 3-minute survey has fewer screening questions and fewer quota checks than a 25-minute one. Short surveys also finish faster, so a failed attempt costs you less.
- Use the pass rate on the card. "3 in 10 get paid" is calculated from Bonusboy members in your country, not from the partner's claim. Prefer cards with a higher number.
- Fill in the survey profile once and keep it true. Birth year, gender and postal code are used by partners to skip surveys you cannot qualify for, so you see fewer dead ends.
- Answer every survey as the same person. Partners compare answers across studies. Changing your job title or household size between surveys gets you screened out, and later cancelled.
- Take a break after three screen-outs in a row. The list refreshes during the day. The app now suggests a rest after three failures for exactly this reason.
What a screen-out looks like in the app
The Surveys tab keeps every survey you opened and its result: completed, screened out, cancelled, or no result reported. Tap a line for the explanation. If a partner paid a small credit for a screen-out, it shows as "Screen-out credit" in your history.
Quick answers
What does "screened out" mean?
The research company asked a few opening questions, decided you are not in the group it needs for that study, and ended the survey. It is decided by the research company, not by the app, and it usually pays nothing.
Why do I get disqualified after answering for ten minutes?
Some studies check quotas in the middle of the survey (for example, enough people of your age group have already answered) or run attention checks. When that happens the partner closes the survey without paying. We show these as "screened out" in your history and count them in the pass rate on the card.
Does Bonusboy keep the money when I am screened out?
No. When a survey is screened out the research company does not pay anyone, so there is nothing to keep or share.
