Detecting browser type in surveys
How to capture the respondent's browser type and other browser metadata.
A step-by-step interactive tutorial on detecting browser type in surveys in SurveyEngine. Preview the live tutorial, then download and upload it to your account to examine the construction.
Ben White, 08.07.2026
What this tutorial covers
How to capture the respondent's browser type and other browser metadata.
Each page of the tutorial demonstrates a specific technique. Work through it as a respondent first, then open the editor to see how it was built.
What you will learn
After completing this tutorial you will be able to implement detecting browser type in surveys in your own SurveyEngine surveys.
Download the tutorial ZIP and upload it to your account to use it as a starting point or template for your own work.
TLDR Quick links
Step-by-step walkthrough
Step 1: Read the user agent string. Use navigator.userAgent in JavaScript to capture the browser identification string.
Step 2: Store the user agent. Save the user agent string to a hidden survey variable for export.
Step 3: Parse browser and version. Use a JavaScript parsing library to extract the browser name and version from the user agent string.
Step 4: Use browser data in logic. Apply display conditions based on browser type - for example warn users on unsupported browsers.
Step 5: Export and analyse. Use browser data in your data quality checks to identify responses from automated browsers or unusual configurations.
Try the live tutorial
The live tutorial is a working SurveyEngine survey. Click through it as a respondent to see the finished result.
Then download the tutorial ZIP file and upload it to your SurveyEngine account to examine how it was built.
Preview the live tutorial or download the ZIP file to load it into your account.
References
Ready to try it? Open a free SurveyEngine account, download the tutorial ZIP and upload it to your account.
Or Contact us at support@surveyengine.com — we're glad to help.