Panic as Glassdoor begins revealing 'anonymous' users' real names on employer review website

The leading employer review website is facing a crisis of confidence among users after it was accused of betraying their anonymity to bosses.

Glassdoor, which boasts 2.5 million employer profiles, has built its fortune on allowing people to leave anonymous online reviews of their workplaces.

But it is facing some scathing reviews of its own after it was accused of adding users' real names to some profiles, leaving them at risk of retribution from the companies reviewed.

'Big mistake,' wrote user Monica after finding her own name appended to her profile.

'They do not care that this puts people at risk with their employers, they do not care that this seems to run counter to their own data-privacy policies.'

Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong has built the company into one of the biggest online brands with 55 million monthly users 

The company now stands accused of betraying trust and jeopardizing users' anonymity 

The employer review site is now attracting some scathing online reviews of its own 

The company began demanding full names, job titles and employer details from new users in July.

Previously users could use the website with just an email address, but the switch was made after Glassdoor acquired work app Fishbowl and began integrating its features on its site.

Existing users who tried to log on were told that 'entering your real name is required to verify your profile', but reassured that 'other users won't see your name unless you choose to share it'.

Monica claimed in a detailed blog post that after emailing Glassdoor about an 'account-related issue', she found that the company had taken the real name and location from her email and added it to her account profile without her consent.

'I got a reply from 'lead, content and community team' who informed me that though they were 'required' to add my name to my profile, this would not affect the anonymous reviews I had posted in the past,' she wrote.

'Well I would hope not! But still, I said, them storing my name along with that data puts me at risk.

'I pointed out that we've seen ample evidence that anybody with a juicy online database can be hacked, and the mere presence of that involuntary data was a problem.'

The warning sparked horror among many of Glassdoor's 55 million monthly users who have long assumed that anonymity gave them the safety to leave honest and frank accounts of workplaces to potential employees.

Some pointed out that anonymous reviews were always a recipe for abuse 

'Insanely bad move. Rip Glassdoor,' wrote Chris Noel.

'How do you delete Glassdoor comments, asking for a lot of friends,' added Mick Baccio.

'As a very infrequent user of Glassdoor, was their site's entire purpose not supposed to be allowing anonymous reviews of workplace environments?' asked @waldorfsixpence.

Glassdoor told users that it now needs to verify identities so as to 'ensure that our users can engage in authentic, candid conversations with other professionals, coworkers, and company leaders in a safe space'.

Some admitted that anonymity has its own drawbacks, allowing malicious reviews from disgruntled employees and astro-turfed reviews from the companies themselves.

'At least for the purpose of company reviews the value of the site is going to collapse,' wrote Shawn Augsburger.

'To be fair though you needed to take them with a grain of salt in that I know some orgs were intentionally creating fake positive reviews.

'On the flip side I was never clear that they really did much to verify the reviewers actually worked there.'

A Glassdoor spokeswoman told Wired that its purchase of Fishbowl meant that user information needed to be shared across its platforms, but that users retained the option to remain anonymous.

'When a user provides information, either during the sign-up process or by uploading a résumé, that information will automatically cross-populate between all Glassdoor services, including our community app Fishbowl,' she wrote.

'Users can choose to be fully anonymous or reveal elements of their identity, like company name or job title, while using our community service.'

But others despaired at the difficulty of keeping private information private online 

'So glad I never posted anything of value on Glassdoor and deleted my data there, but now have to navigate how to extend that request to 'affiliates',' tweeted Bruno J. Navarro.

'Great job, everyone.'

'Want to delete my Glassdoor account but only have the option to deactivate,' added @mwallaby93.

'You have to give your first and last name to contact Glassdoor which is the whole reason I want to delete the thing in the first place.'

In a statement to Dailymail.com the company said: 'Glassdoor is committed to providing a platform for people to share their opinions and experiences about their jobs and companies, anonymously – without fear of intimidation or retaliation. 

'User reviews on Glassdoor have always and will always be anonymous. In the Glassdoor community, users always have the choice to post with their name or post anonymously with their company name or job title. 

'Glassdoor has never and will never reveal a user’s name alongside their content, unless that is what the user chooses.'