# Ask what your community needs to know, with a reason for each question

> Member profile questions let a community ask its own questions on top of name, city and skills, such as company name, batch year or startup stage. Each has an answer type, a purpose members read, required or optional, and who may see the answer. Milvao asks them in the WhatsApp chat right after a member joins, one at a time, and on the private profile form.

Source: https://milvao.com/features/profile-questions · Updated 2026-11-06

## Key takeaways

- Nine answer types, from short text and numbers to choices, dates, links and emails.
- Every question shows members why it's asked. Required questions can't be skipped.
- A question can apply to the whole community or to one group only.
- Answers never go to the AI, never appear in logs and are deleted with the member.

## Setting up member profile questions

1. Open Settings and, under Profile questions, tap Add questions.
2. Write the question, up to 120 characters, and pick an answer type.
3. Choose who is asked: everyone, or only members of one group.
4. Write why you ask. Members see this sentence under the question.
5. Mark it required or optional and choose who can see the answer.
6. Check the preview of the WhatsApp message and the form field, then save.

![Settings, Profile questions section: the community's own questions with type, who sees the answer and whether they are required](https://milvao.com/screenshots/settings-questions-light.webp)

Up to 40 questions can be active at once, but every extra question is one more message for a new member, so short lists work best.

## Answer types in the chat and on the form

| Type | In WhatsApp | On the form |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Short or long text | Typed, up to 120 or 1,000 characters | Text box |
| Number | Typed, for example 1,500 | Number box |
| Single choice | Buttons for up to 3 options, a list for up to 10, a numbered list above that | Options, a dropdown above 6 |
| Multiple choice | Tap options one by one, then Done, or type the numbers | Tick boxes |
| Yes or no | Two buttons | Yes and No |
| Date, link or email | Typed and checked, then asked again if it doesn't fit | Date picker or text box |

## Ready-made starter sets

| Set | Questions it adds |
| --- | --- |
| Business network | Company or business name, industry, years in business, company website |
| Founders | Startup name, stage, sector, are you hiring |
| Alumni | Batch year, programme or course, current organisation, happy to mentor students |
| Accelerator | Cohort, startup name, where do you need help, pitch deck or website |

Questions worded the same as one you already have are skipped, and anything added can be edited or archived.

## Who sees each answer

| Setting | Who sees it |
| --- | --- |
| Operators only | Your team, on the member page and in directory filters |
| Operators and matching | Your team, and it can help rank members for a request. Never shown to other members |
| Also shown in introductions | Also the person this member is introduced to, after both say yes |

## Guard rails on what you can ask

- Questions touching health, religion, caste, sexual orientation, political views or personal finances show a warning, and only the owner can add them, with a tick confirming the community needs the answer.
- Questions asking for Aadhaar, PAN, passport, voter ID or driving licence numbers can't be added at all.
- Answers are never sent to the AI that reads requests and never written to logs or the audit trail.
- Answers are deleted together with the member's data.
- Once anyone has answered, a question's answer type is fixed. Archive it and add a new one instead.

## Members who joined before a question existed

A new required question is asked the next time an existing member messages your number, at most once a day. If that message was a request, Milvao keeps it, asks the question, then carries on with the request. Members whose profile was already active stay active in the meantime, and the directory filter Missing required answers shows who still has to answer. Members can review all their answers at any time by sending ANSWERS.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can members skip questions?

Optional ones, yes, by sending SKIP or tapping Skip. Required ones can't be skipped in the chat, but can be answered on the profile form instead.

### Do members answer the same question twice if they join two groups?

No. Community-wide questions are asked once per member. A group's own questions are asked when someone joins that group.

### Can my team fill in an answer for a member?

Yes, with Edit member on the member's page. The answer is marked as given by an operator, and the member is told which fields changed unless you untick the notice.

### Where do members answer?

By default in the chat first, with the form showing the same questions. You can also choose chat only or form only in Settings.

## Sources

- [Milvao Help Center: Profile questions](https://milvao.com/help/community/profile-questions) (checked 2026-11-05)
- [Milvao Help Center: Your profile](https://milvao.com/help/members/your-profile) (checked 2026-11-05)

## Related pages

- [Community member directory](https://milvao.com/features/member-directory)
- [WhatsApp group join link tracking](https://milvao.com/features/join-links)
- [Welcome message generator](https://milvao.com/tools/community-welcome-message-generator)
- [Profile questions (Help Center)](https://milvao.com/help/community/profile-questions)