Use previous participants from past tests (New experience)

At a glance

Use these steps to invite previous participants to your study by username so you can re-engage known contributors without using screeners.

Note: Screeners and device targeting are not available for this audience type.

On this page:

• About Previous Participants
• Add previous participants to a test
• Launch and monitor your test
• Participant experience
• Banned and opted-out participants
• FAQ

About Previous Participants

Use this feature to:

• Invite previous participants directly to your study.
• Ideal for follow-up or longitudinal research.
• No screener questions are required; skip them entirely.
• Usernames are validated before launch to ensure participants can join.

Add previous participants to a test

• Add participants from the Audience tab during test setup.
• Use usernames, not email addresses.
• Separate multiple usernames with commas, then press Enter to submit. 

To add previous participants, follow these steps:

1. Create a test.
2. Go to the Audience tab.
3. Click + Add audience (if needed).
4. Select Previous participants as the recruitment source.
5. Enter or paste participant usernames.
   • Use usernames, not email addresses
   • Separate with commas, then press Enter
   • Invalid usernames will trigger an error message
     
     
     
     
      
6. Fix any validation errors.
   • Remove invalid usernames
   • Remove duplicates
   • The test quota equals the number of participants added
   • At least one valid participant is required to launch your test
7. Click Add participants to confirm.
   
   
    

Launch and monitor your test

Launch your test from the Review tab after adding participants.

1. Go to the Review tab.
   
   
    
2. Review your test setup and participant count.
3. Click Launch test.
4. Open the Monitor tab.
5. Track progress using the following status indicators:
   • Accepted Terms
   • Completed

Add participants to your test

You can add more participants after your test has launched:

1. Pause the test.
2. Add participants to the existing audience, or create a new audience within the same test.
3. Relaunch the test.

Participant experience

After you launch your test:

• Invited participants receive a personalized email invitation indicating they were specifically selected for your test.
• Participants can accept and complete the test directly from that email.
• Participants must still pass pre-study checks before joining.
• If a participant does not respond, a reminder email is sent within 24 hours.

Banned and opted-out participants

A Banned participant is a participant who has been flagged for fraud, and an opted-out participant is one that has chosen to leave the UserTesting Network. Neither can be invited to participate in a test. This applies to both UserTesting Network and User Interviews panelists.

What you see depends on your test’s status when the participant is banned or opts out:

• Before launch (test in draft) — if you try to add a banned or opted-out participant when selecting Previous participants (by username or by participant list), you’ll see an error message and they won’t be added. If a participant you already added is banned later, while your test is still in draft, launch is blocked: an error message directs you to fix the error on the Audience tab, where the participant shows a red tag, a tooltip, and an error message that they are no longer part of the UserTesting Network. Remove them and adjust your quota before launching.
• After launch — if a participant in your audience becomes banned, they show a red tag on the Audience tab, hovering over the tag shows a tooltip explaining they are no longer part of the UserTesting Network, and your quota is adjusted automatically.

To remove a banned or opted-out participant so you can launch your test:

1. Go to the Audience tab and remove the flagged username from your Previous participants audience, the same way you would remove an invalid username.
2. Adjust the number of participants — your test quota equals the number of participants added, so lower it to match your remaining eligible participants (at least one valid participant is required to launch).
3. Return to the Review tab and launch your test.

If the flagged participant came from a Participant List, we recommend also removing them from the list itself in the Participant Hub so future tests aren’t affected. For steps, see Participant Lists.

FAQ

Can I use both previous participants and the UserTesting network in the same test?
Yes. You can add multiple audience types to a single test for example, a Previous Participants audience, a UserTesting Network audience, and an Invite Your Own audience.

What happens if I enter an invalid username?
Invalid usernames are flagged during setup. You must remove or correct them before launching the test. 

What happens if a participant I added is banned or has opted out?
Banned or opted-out participants (flagged for fraud, or no longer part of the UserTesting Network) can’t be invited to tests. You’ll see an error when targeting them by username or list, and launch is blocked until you remove them and adjust your quota. See the Banned and opted-out participants section above.

Can I add more participants after launching the test?
Yes. Pause the test first, then either add participants to the existing audience or create a new audience within the same test.

Related content