Not difficult to understand

They want people who like to be abused.
They don't want people with self-respect.

In principle they shouldn't be allowed to ask that. if they seem to be giving too much weight to that they are just being lazy on trying to evaluate you and they will likely be bad employers who believe that taking time off for yourself is a red flag

This question should be illegal to ask.

No I can't. I signed an NDA.
- On snap... It could work if you are a good bullshit artist
- The NDA: Dear me, I promise to talk about the fun times only with my friends and not with potential employers. Signed, me.
- This can also help you filter the lunatics from the normal workplaces. In an interview, I once explained that I couldn’t discuss specifics of my client work because of confidentiality and NDAs, and they kept pushing. It wasn’t even the same industry! There was no obvious competitive advantage.
  
  Maybe they wanted to be ver very sure you weren’t covering a not-working period /s

If i have to explain the gap (which clearly means I was not employed), it means you are incompetent, you fail my interview, I don't work with incompetent bosses.

I spent some time in a mountain cave replica in a Nepalese themed restaurant, diligently honing my programming skills without the noise of the outside world. No internet, no mains, no toilet. Just me, my laptop, an angry manager who called the police and 60 charged replacement batteries that fell off a truck.
There I created the art of meditative programming where I learned to program not just my machine, but myself. As a result of this resume gap I am now able to function as a 13.6% more productive employee and have finally met the benchmark of 1.0x engineer. At my former employer I delivered a project which brought them in revenue totaling at least $12, giving me priceless experience because of this training.
- <chef’s kiss>

"I was consulting."
It's true, I was giving out advice left and right.
- I totally had a guy catch and call me on that
  "Those 3 months I did consulting for a local elderly care facility, helping them learn some computer basics"
  "Sir, your parents don't count" without missing a beat. I actually did help other people in that specific chunk he was asking about, but rude lol, and I think that might even be a big part of why I didn't get that one tbh
- It was my sabbatical, and be really smug when you say it, like I'm better than you.
  
  "I inherited some money and could afford to pursue personal interests (getting high and playing videogames)"
- Online and on video games.

In Germany, just ask them what the gap between 1933 and 1945 in their company's history is as a direct response.
- I am not sure drawing a comparison between your unemployment and the reign of the Nazis is the best move
  
  But if you get a rise out of them it'll be perfect.

That's too much info. A simple "I can" answers their question.

Big if true

My resume has a bigger gap than goatse

Me: "I was moving in silence or under a NDA."

I got really into table tennis and lost track of time.
- I went runn-ing

I tried to get the US-Citizenship. But then came the Macarena…

Yes. I created the document in Google docs, and you opened it in Word.
- That's why you should provide PDF of you resume.
  
  Nah just give them the .tex source and let them deal with it.
- I created it in Word and opened it in Teams by accident once.
  
  Teams embedded Office is the worst. Like, can you not, and would it hurt to be ⅔ less bloated by doing so?

- Oh. I'm bookmarking this. Great idea.
- Will this actually work?
  
  Not even remotely.
  
  It depends on the context if you say you had an NDA and can’t elaborate at all on the details that’s a clear red flag as most NDAs you can at least give the context of what it is about I.e. specific job processes, witnesses an event, etc.
  If you say you worked for X company but can’t talk about the details of your work because of an NDA then that’s fine but they might call your old employer to verify you did really work there.
  
  For the most part, yes. They only really ask the question because they automatically assume you were in jail if you have a gap over 2’ish weeks long. So they’re really just looking for some sort of explanation besides “I was just unemployed for no reason.” Because they assume “no reason” is really “I don’t want to admit that I was in jail.”
  
  I can't tell you, I signed an NDA

Those were the times I was taking time off to argue with the voices in my head that were telling me to kill again.
- Did you win the argument?
  
  That's what the interviewer asked too. The voices didn't like that question...
  
  For like 3 months out of the 2 year gap, yeah

"I was unemployed"
Why?
Can they not even keep a job?
"I took a sabbatical"
Mysterious
Arousing
Shows off the size of your enormous sack
EDIT : When I took my sabbatical and I was dating at the same time, instead of being seen as a scruffy bum it actually did give an air of mystique, since most people at that age were not doing things like that.
- What's your biggest strength?
  The size of my enormous sack
  
  Santa?
  
  Randy Marsh, sir, you're hired.

An idiot asked me that once when I had just finished my masters. Like did you read my resume?
- I think they do that to:
  Judge your reaction to being asked stupid questions.
  Check that you know what's written on your CV, to see if you're lying on it or something?
  C) Because someone else chose the candidates for interview.
  
  Based on the context and my own personal experience as a person who has interviewed hundreds as a hiring manager --not syaing I do this, just that I understand-- they said "HEY FRANK WE NEED YOU TO SIT IN THIS INTERVIEW IN 30 MINUTES. K THANKS" and Frank showed up and tried to pretend that he knew what was going on.

I always put in "traveling overseas"
In my case this is actually true, but I've never had anyone question me taking 12 months off every few years

"That is the year when I was happy."
- "I cosplayed as a person who was free."

"I had to provide end of life care to a close relative."
I have a big gap from a few years of depression and that's my go to line. I have never ever heard a follow up question.
- I have a big gap from a few years of depression
  It's relieving to hear I'm not the only one, that shit was crippling. Glad we both made it through!
  
  Fuck yeah. We survived!
- How big are we talking, I sometimes feel like taking a year off to fix my mental health, but I fear it will kill my career
  
  I have a year of uni (unfinished), a year of an apprenticeship (unfinished) and then 1.5yrs of joblessness. Started at 20, I learned a trade in my mid twenties and have a solid career now. I just regret I was never able to finish uni.

I was told one way is: I singed a nda and I’m not allowed to answer that
- Was singeing the NDA the reason you didn't keep that job?
- You’d still be asked to provide start and end dates and place of employment if your work was confidential. If the NDA prohibits you from disclosing your employment entirely, it will typically include a restriction against disclosing the existence of the NDA itself.
  
  "I legally cannot tell you what I was doing from 20xx-20xx"
- My refusal to answer is proof that I'm trustworthy :3

FMLA is always a safe bet. Only one available to care for a dying family member buys sympathy and is an area they can’t legally ask any follow-up questions.
Source: former corporate shill and interviewer

Haha, as if anyone actually asks that. A gap gets you automatically rejected by the employment AI, long before humans see it.
- Can someone confirm from* a recruitment standpoint.
- What does one put on the resume then?
  
  lies
  
  You use the other AI to fill it in on the resume.

Took a year off to let everyone else catch up 💅

"Those are line breaks. You see it's easier to read if you break up blocks of text into paragraphs separated by a whole empty line."

“Sorrry, I have an NDA”
- NDAs generally prohibit you from stating that you are under NDA.
  Better to be cryptic “I can’t really go into details due to my clearance”.
  
  That doesn't work either
  They still want name of employer and dates
  Lots of cleared applicants have probably applied there in the past

"Yeah, I spent that time driving Uber/Doordash/whatever."
No boss to confirm/deny, and it's not like Uber is going to tell a random employer when one of their drivers were active.
- Depending on your career, this might be worse than not doing anything
  
  Why's that?

"I took four months off to recover from burnout"
- That's pretty much what I said - I took some time off for my family. I was getting called 3-4 times a week between 6pm-5am, often times not being present for them, so I had to make a change or risk losing them. I got the job and don't get called at night. Win-win all except for those 4 months without paying and stress of resume rewrites and a million applications.
- Yes. I've basically said that, not that I've had such a rude, direct question from an interviewer.

I was working on my mental health
- Oh you have had mental health problems? I'm not sure we're going to be a good fit for your kind...
  
  That's discrimination
- in other words, it's why i'm not trying to strangle you for asking me that question!

I have a one year gap in mine and I can't remember anyone asking about it.

i have never been asked this question and i actively remove positions that aren't relevant to the job i send that particular resume to

Yes, i was pursuing other opportunities that do not relate to this field so i did not include them

I had a six year gap. I tried to found a startup with a buddy and it fell through. I had enough savings to spend time learning new technologies and leveling up my skills. It made me unemployable. It really sucked. Finally taking a temp gig for four months got the phone to start ringing.
- That's not a gap, you were working for the startup. Even if the company never put a product on the market, you were still working. Doesn't matter if your didn't even form an LLC. You should put it on your resume and proudly describe the work your did and challenges you faced when anyone asks about it.
  
  The startup ended much earlier than the rest of the time that I spent learning new tech. It wouldn't have been plausible to expand the startup time for a plethora of reasons. I did learn to use it on my resume from a similar online discussion.
- Why not lie about it?
  Bosses aren't people, lying to them isn't just right, it's a duty.
  
  No wonder why none of your bosses treated you well if you have this kind of thinking. You must be a pain to work with.

"That's when I was happy" is the only correct answer.

"That was a period of my life that is none of your business."
- And that’s how you don’t get a call back
  
  Suits me. I wouldn't want to work for anyone that nosy anyway.

It’s called a line break. Now I know why you needed someone proficient in MS Word!

"The economy"

Time loop
I could have been in that gap once, twice .... a million times ... we don't know
- A dozen times, a hundred, it's impossible to tell.

"I was hiking across the country to find my inner self“
- I was soul-searching but only bagged a few of them.
  
  You don’t bag them. They’re bottled.
- And while I was out looking for myself, I found Ashley, Brittany, Cassie, and Evan...

It's classified
- [REDACTED]

It’s a store, they sell clothes, I worked there.

Never have to explain my work history for anyone! Well, until I flee the country. Self-employed yay!
Meeting clients like "hi yes I'm capable, responsible, and don't want to rob you" goes a long way

Went Karouac on everyone's ass!