How to Configure Outlook FindTime Add-In for Anonymous Voting

Outlook FindTime is a Microsoft add-in that helps you find meeting times that work for all attendees. By default, attendees can see who else has voted and how each person voted. This can create bias or discomfort when scheduling sensitive meetings. You can configure FindTime to enable anonymous voting so that attendees see only the vote totals, not individual responses. This article explains how to set up anonymous voting in FindTime, what prerequisites are required, and how to avoid common configuration mistakes.

Overview of FindTime Anonymous Voting

FindTime is a polling add-in for Outlook that lets you propose multiple meeting times and ask attendees to vote on their preferences. In a standard FindTime poll, each attendee can see the names of other participants and how each person voted. This transparency can inadvertently influence voting behavior, especially in hierarchical organizations or when discussing sensitive topics.

Anonymous voting hides individual attendee names and vote selections from all participants. Only the poll creator sees who voted and how. Attendees see only the total number of votes for each time slot. This feature is available in FindTime polls created in Outlook on the web and the Outlook desktop client when the FindTime add-in is installed.

Before you can use anonymous voting, the following prerequisites must be met:

• You must have a Microsoft 365 work or school account. Personal Outlook accounts do not support FindTime.
• The FindTime add-in must be enabled in your Outlook client. In Outlook on the web, go to Settings > View all Outlook settings > General > Integrated apps. In the desktop client, go to File > Options > Add-ins and ensure FindTime is listed under Active Application Add-ins.
• If you are an IT administrator, you can enable FindTime for your organization in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Org settings > FindTime.

Steps to Enable Anonymous Voting in a New FindTime Poll

Follow these steps to create a FindTime poll with anonymous voting enabled. These steps apply to Outlook on the web and the Outlook desktop client.

1. Open FindTime from a new email message
   In Outlook, click New Email to compose a new message. In the message window, locate the FindTime button in the ribbon. On the web, it appears in the message toolbar. In the desktop client, it is in the Message tab under the FindTime group. Click the FindTime button to open the poll creation pane.
2. Add attendees and propose times
   In the FindTime pane, enter the email addresses of the attendees in the Add attendees field. Add at least two attendees. Then click Add time options and select two or more meeting times you want to propose. You can choose specific times from the calendar grid or manually type dates and times.
3. Open the poll options menu
   In the FindTime pane, locate the Options link. It is usually near the bottom of the pane, above the Insert Poll button. Click Options to expand the settings panel.
4. Enable anonymous voting
   In the Options panel, find the checkbox labeled Make votes anonymous. Click the checkbox to enable it. A checkmark appears next to the option. When enabled, the poll will hide attendee names and individual votes from all participants except the poll creator.
5. Insert the poll into the email
   Click the Insert Poll button at the bottom of the FindTime pane. FindTime adds the poll table to your email message body. Complete the email subject and any additional text, then click Send. Attendees receive the email with the poll and can vote without seeing other voters.

How IT Admins Can Enforce Anonymous Voting Organization-Wide

If you are a Microsoft 365 administrator, you can configure FindTime settings so that all polls created by users in your organization have anonymous voting enabled by default. This setting overrides individual user preferences and cannot be changed by end users.

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center
   Go to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with your admin credentials. Navigate to Org settings (under Settings in the left navigation).
2. Select FindTime from the services list
   Scroll down the list of services and click FindTime. If you do not see FindTime in the list, ensure the FindTime add-in is enabled for your organization. You may need to deploy it via Integrated apps.
3. Enable anonymous voting by default
   In the FindTime settings panel, locate the option Make votes anonymous by default. Toggle the switch to On. Click Save to apply the change. All new FindTime polls created by users in your organization will now have anonymous voting enabled automatically.

Common Issues When Using Anonymous Voting

Anonymous voting option is grayed out or missing

The Make votes anonymous checkbox is unavailable if you have not added at least two attendees to the poll. Add a minimum of two attendees before opening the Options panel. If the option remains grayed out after adding attendees, ensure the FindTime add-in is updated to the latest version. In Outlook on the web, refresh the browser. In the desktop client, restart Outlook.

Attendees can still see who voted

If anonymous voting is enabled correctly, attendees see only the total vote count for each time slot. If attendees report seeing names, verify that the poll was created after enabling the checkbox. Polls created before enabling anonymous voting retain the original visibility settings. You must create a new poll with the checkbox selected. Also check that the poll was sent from a supported Outlook client. FindTime polls sent from third-party email clients may not respect the anonymity setting.

Anonymous voting not applied to existing polls

Anonymous voting is a per-poll setting. It cannot be retroactively applied to a poll that has already been sent. If you need anonymous voting for a poll that has already been sent, you must create a new poll with the anonymous voting option enabled and resend it to attendees. Notify attendees to ignore the previous poll.

FindTime Anonymous Voting vs Standard Voting: Key Differences

Item	Anonymous Voting	Standard Voting
Attendee visibility	Attendees see only total vote counts for each time slot	Attendees see names and individual vote selections of all participants
Poll creator visibility	Creator sees all attendee names and votes	Creator sees all attendee names and votes
Voting bias risk	Low — votes are not influenced by peer presence	High — attendees may be influenced by seeing how others voted
Best use case	Sensitive topics, executive meetings, feedback polls	General team scheduling where transparency is acceptable
Configuration	Enabled per poll or enforced by IT admin	Default behavior — no configuration needed

You can now create FindTime polls with anonymous voting to reduce bias in meeting scheduling. If you manage an organization, enforce the setting globally through the Microsoft 365 admin center. For polls that require maximum confidentiality, combine anonymous voting with the Hide attendee list option in Outlook meeting responses. Remember that anonymous voting only hides votes from attendees — the poll creator always retains full visibility into who voted and how.