OBJECTIVES: Recent advances in technology have meant changes in the way many users access the worldwide web. Here we compare changes in the devices, operating systems, and browsers used to complete online medical surveys since 2012, with a view to understanding how to optimise these surveys in the future. METHODS: Google Analytics data from patients participating in twelve online medical surveys hosted by Patients Direct Limited were collected quarterly between 2012 and 2016. Changing trends in the popularity of devices, operating systems, and browsers were evaluated for quarters recording a minimum of 500 sessions. RESULTS: A dramatic reduction occurred in the use of desktop computers to access surveys from Q4 2012 (>90% of sessions) to Q1 2015 (typically <20% of sessions). A simultaneous rise in the use of mobile phones took place with fewer than 5% of sessions accessed by mobile phone in Q4 2012 to typically more than 60% of sessions after the start of 2015. Google Chrome was used to access surveys in less than 25% of sessions in Q4 2012, but was used in approximately 50% of sessions in 2016. The use of Internet Explorer has dropped from over 40% in Q4 2012 to less than 3% in Q3 2015. On mobile phones and tablets only, the use of the iOS operating system to access surveys has declined slightly from approximately 70% in the first half of 2013 to approximately 40% during the same period in 2016. Simultaneously, the use of the Android operating system has risen from less than 30% in 2013 to over 50% from the beginning of 2015. CONCLUSIONS: Changing trends in the use of devices, operating systems and browsers used by patients accessing medical surveys advertised and completed online suggest future surveys must be designed to accommodate mobile phones and tablets.