Buzz
Whenever you access a Google Doc set to 'anyone with the link can view,' you’re likely not just skimming the text. Your attention probably shifts to the corner icon, revealing whether you’ve been assigned a wombat, aurochs, chupacabra, or one of the 70 other animal avatars available for anonymous users.
Every shared Google Doc displays a lineup of these animal icons. They’re automatically assigned to users accessing the file without a direct invitation. If you share a document via a link instead of entering specific email addresses, viewers will appear as these anonymous creatures—even if their contact details are in your system.
According to Google spokesperson Kyree Harmon, the origins of these animals trace back further than most realize. In 2012, Google’s team aimed to inject some fun into their practical Docs feature, which had recently been rebranded from 'Google Documents' and integrated into Google Drive. 'Initially, the plan was to label anonymous viewers with long numerical sequences, like Anonymous35123512425,' Harmon explained to Mytour in 2018. 'But the team sought a friendlier, more relatable approach. During a brainstorming session, the alliterative 'Anonymous Animals' concept emerged, prompting the visual design team to create the iconic avatars.'
Harmon recalls that while the exact starting animals are forgotten, they were all fairly common creatures. Over time, the selection grew to include more whimsical options, including mythical beings and even non-animal icons. (And no, you can’t pick your animal or find out which one you’ve been assigned without another user’s help—that’s part of the charm!) This is why you’ll find the capybara, the world’s biggest rodent, alongside the axolotl, a cheerful salamander; Nyan Cat, the 2011 viral meme of a pixelated flying cat with a Pop-Tart body; and the kraken, a legendary Scandinavian sea monster resembling a giant squid.
Harmon explained that engineers eventually became more inventive, incorporating endangered and extinct species like the quagga, a zebra relative that vanished in 1883. (Efforts to 'revive' the species through breeding zebras with similar patterns have been made to recreate herds resembling the original quaggas.)
The list expanded rapidly, reaching 68 animals by 2016. At that time, the moose, tiger, llama, and the jackalope—a mythical rabbit-deer hybrid often seen as taxidermy in the American West—were still missing. These were added later, and Harmon confirmed in 2018 that the roster of 73 creatures would not be expanded further.
What occurs when the number of anonymous users in a Google Doc exceeds the available animals? It’s rarely an issue. 'If Docs consistently had more than 73 anonymous viewers at once,' Harmon notes, 'we wouldn’t want to reuse animals and risk confusion.'
The Full Catalog of Anonymous Animals in Google Docs
- Alligator
- Anteater
- Armadillo
- Aurochs
- Axolotl
- Badger
- Bat
- Beaver
- Buffalo
- Camel
- Capybara
- Chameleon
- Cheetah
- Chinchilla
- Chipmunk
- Chupacabra
- Cormorant
- Coyote
- Crow
- Dingo
- Dinosaur
- Dolphin
- Duck
- Elephant
- Ferret
- Fox
- Frog
- Giraffe
- Gopher
- Grizzly
- Hedgehog
- Hippo
- Hyena
- Ibex
- Ifrit
- Iguana
- Jackal
- Jackalope
- Kangaroo
- Koala
- Kraken
- Lemur
- Leopard
- Liger
- Llama
- Manatee
- Mink
- Monkey
- Moose
- Narwhal
- Nyan Cat
- Orangutan
- Otter
- Panda
- Penguin
- Platypus
- Pumpkin
- Python
- Quagga
- Rabbit
- Raccoon
- Rhino
- Sheep
- Shrew
- Skunk
- Slow Loris
- Squirrel
- Tiger
- Turtle
- Walrus
- Wolf
- Wolverine
- Wombat
