Hidden Fields: Passing Data Without User Input

Not every piece of data on a form needs to be typed by the visitor. Sometimes you want to attach information to a submission that the person shouldn’t see or shouldn’t have to enter — which campaign brought them, what page they submitted from, a reference tied to a link they clicked. That’s exactly what hidden fields are for. Here’s how they work in Auto Form Builder and how to use them.

What a hidden field does

A hidden field is part of your form and part of the submission, but it isn’t shown to the visitor. It sits silently in the background, carrying a value that gets saved with the entry just like any visible field. The person filling in the form never sees it or interacts with it — it simply travels along with everything they do enter. The builder describes it plainly: the field won’t be visible to users but will be included in form submissions.

Turn on hidden mode

Hidden mode is an option on the field. On a Text field, for example, you enable the Hidden Field setting and the field disappears from view while still submitting its value. It’s a toggle, not a separate field type — so you can take a normal field and make it a silent data-carrier. (Note that hidden mode and password mode are mutually exclusive, since one hides the field entirely and the other masks visible input.)

Give it a value

A hidden field is only useful if it carries something. There are two main ways to populate it:

• Set a fixed value directly, so every submission through that form carries the same piece of data — useful for tagging which form or source an entry came from.
• Populate it from a URL parameter, so the value comes from the link the visitor arrived through. This is powerful for tracking: a campaign link can carry a campaign name into the hidden field, and it’s captured with the submission automatically.

The URL-parameter approach works on normal pages and embedded forms alike, so context can follow people even onto forms placed on other sites.

Common uses for hidden fields

Hidden fields quietly solve a lot of tracking and context problems:

• Campaign or source tracking — capture which campaign, ad, or channel a submission came from via URL parameters.
• Form or page identification — tag entries with which form or page they originated on.
• Reference values — carry an ID or code tied to a personalized link.
• Context for your team — attach a value that helps you route or interpret the submission.

In every case, you get richer data on each entry without adding anything the visitor has to fill in.

Where the data goes

A hidden field’s value is stored with the submission in your submissions dashboard, right alongside the visible answers — so you can see, search, and filter by it. And because it’s part of the submission data, it’s included when you send entries onward via webhooks, so your CRM or automation tool receives the source, campaign, or reference too. That makes hidden fields especially valuable for lead tracking and attribution.

Use hidden fields to

• Track campaign, source, or channel via URL parameters.
• Identify which form or page an entry came from.
• Carry reference values from personalized links.
• Enrich submissions with context, no visitor input needed.

Hidden fields are a quiet workhorse — they add valuable data and context to your submissions without adding a single thing for the visitor to do. It’s a simple toggle on the free core, no code required.

Related reading: How to add text fields, how to add number fields, and how to create password fields.

Ready to enrich your submissions? Install Auto Form Builder free from WordPress.org.