For studies where participants are expected to complete KoboToolbox web forms using their own mobile phones, mobile data costs can become an important barrier to participation.
One option is to work with a third-party provider that offers zero-rated or reverse-billed web access, so that participants can open and submit a KoboToolbox form without the data usage being charged to their own mobile plan.
In a recent project implemented in South Africa, the survey itself continued to be hosted in KoboToolbox, but a data-free service provider created a separate reverse-billed URL that routed participants to the KoboToolbox web form. For participants, this meant they could open the data-free link and submit the survey to KoboToolbox without the associated mobile data usage being charged to their own data plan.
The survey also used personalized links with a unique participant ID passed through a URL parameter. Rather than configuring a separate data-free link for every participant, the provider was able to configure the main survey URL so that different participant IDs appended to the link were also covered.
Example
A standard personalized KoboToolbox web form URL might look like:
https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/[asset_id]?d[uniqueid]=12345
After configuration by the data-free provider, participants would instead use a reverse-billed URL such as:
https://kobotoolbox.survey.datafree.co/x/[asset_id]?d[uniqueid]=12345
The asset ID and participant-specific URL parameter stay the same; only the domain used to access the form changes. This means a project can continue generating personalized links dynamically without needing to configure each participant URL individually.
A few things to keep in mind:
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This is not a native KoboToolbox feature and requires working with an external provider that supports zero-rating or reverse billing.
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Availability will depend on the provider and the mobile networks/countries they support.
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It is worth testing the exact survey setup before launch, particularly if you use URL parameters, personalized links, redirects, media, or other external resources.
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Data usage and pricing will depend on the provider and the size and frequency of survey submissions.
For projects involving frequent participant-reported data collection, especially daily or longitudinal surveys, this can be a useful way to reduce the cost of participation while continuing to use KoboToolbox web forms.
