UX/UI Designer based in Brisbane
UX/UI Designer based in Brisbane
The challenge:
Create an end to end app that neutralises audio monitoring threats. There are many people who are looking for ways to better protect their data and personal information.
Background:
Every smartphone has a microphone, and it's another security risk. While the main concern may for many of us may be someone eavesdropping on private conversations, microphones also can be used for data collection.
For example, the company Alphonso uses smartphone mics to record the ambient noise of the owners' environments, and then creates a database of TV shows that a phone’s owner has watched, which it then sells this data to advertisers hungry to target ads to those users.
My role:
Develop a logo, branding and UX/UI for a mobile privacy app that scrambles any input to your device’s mic.
Background
Users are getting their data collected and they are being listened to on their devices. Although some are complacent, there are many people who are looking for ways to better protect their data and personal information.
Assumptions
If our identities are hidden, we should be safe and anonymous
Using an incognito browser window won’t be traceable
Your phone isn’t listening to your conversations, you’re just paranoid
People care about their privacy
People are lazy
Users always need to create an account
Data usage will be too high to maintain the app
Criminals will abuse the technology of the app
Methodologies
Secondary Research Competitive Analysis
This will give insights and help determine the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors within the privacy app category. Also any weaknesses that can be exploited.
Online surveys
to gauge the common needs and pain points of the target market, surveys and data would be helpful in creating a cohesive end-to-end app that resonates with the user.
1 on 1 interviews – Contextual Laddering
Interview with a potential user and someone who works in technology to find out their views, pain points and day to day privacy concerns/fears.
Participants
• Friends family and work colleagues
Timeline
Day 1. Competitive Analysis, Identify participants. Send out online surveys.
Day 2. Create interview questions, Conduct interviews.
Day 3. Analyse data and summarise findings.
Research Goals
Extensively research privacy/security software and limitations
Identify opportunities for innovation
What makes other privacy apps successful?
Discover the common needs, pain points and human behaviours of the target audience
Research Questions
Do you care about your privacy and personal information on your phone?
What is your biggest concern regarding privacy on your phone?
Do you think your phone is listening to all of your conversations, or just some?
Do you have a story of a coincidence that made you think your phone was listening?
If so, what is your story?
Are you happy for advertisers to have your personal data to target you?
Are you happy for the government to have your personal data?
What expectations do you have from a privacy app?
What needs do you commonly have when it comes to your privacy?
What pain points and problems do you come across concerning your privacy?
Do you have/use any privacy apps at the moment?
Do you have/use your own VPN?
Do you use secure texting apps like signal or WhatsApp?
All participants from surveys and interviews have privacy or security concerns online and/or on their phone.
Some key concerns were:
• Advertisers using their data
• Apps tracking where they go
• App permission to camera, mic, contacts etc.
• Access to microphones, location, contacts etc. that are unnecessary and likely scraped for profit
• Where is my data being stored, what is it being used for?
Not many respondents have apps to help with their privacy. Users most likely need to be informed/educated/advertised to show the benefits of the app.
Mentioned apps:
Whatsapp / Telegram / Duckduckgo / Open VPN / Lookout
PAINS
• Hates that someone can listen to your conversations
• The Government having too much access to our information
• Feeling of paranoia
• Intercepted communications by third parties
• Spyware, security and data breaches
• Viruses and identity theft
GAINS
• For voice triggers not to be used to advertise to him
• To feel safe and have some form of privacy
• Security
• Have a secure VPN
• To feel like he’s doing something to protect his information and data
• For not only calls and texts to be scrambled (encrypted) but also every day conversations
We illustrated a storyboard that captures one of the persona’s user journey when discovering and downloading the app. This highlighted frustrations which inspired features for the site and helped with the user interface design.
After using information from secondary research and the competitor analysis, the Scrambler sitemap was mapped out. The user can login or sign up to the app after the loading screen fades and they only need to give an email address to keep their security private.
Designs were first sketched on paper, then built into low-fidelity wireframes in Sketch keeping in mind the following opportunities:
• Other people you are calling or texting don’t need to have the app for it to work
• No user records
• Set a screen lock PIN on app
• Disable all app permissions to mic
• Show how many times your phone has been breached
• Speak into phone to hear how it would sound to prying ears when scrambled using the app
• Settings
• On / Off feature easy to access
• Reasonably priced
• No advertisements
User flows and task flows were created to visualise the path a user would take to complete a task. The user flow below maps out the path from entering the privacy app through different pages and loops back to the home page.
Based on research findings, the interface of the privacy app needed to be straightforward and clear about the benefits. With this in mind, the listen to soundwaves page demonstrates exactly what the app does. The about page explains the privacy features and security of the app through three informative slides. The colour scheme is moody and the logo design are soundwaves that are split and moved apart to represent the scrambling of your voice. The navigation needed to be easy to follow and the on / off activation needed to be easy to find for users.
The total number of participants that did the test was 3 people, two female and one male between the ages of 34 and 43. They are confident in using apps. The test was done individually on their ipads or phones. I would send them the link and they would try to complete the tasks. I got them to answer some key questions and once they had completed the tasks, I gave them a call to get some feedback about their experience. I lay them out in an affinity map to point the direction towards the next steps and final responsive website design.
A low fidelity prototype was made for the mobile app. After the interface was created, a high fidelity prototype was created for the mobile app using InVision. Once usability testing was completed, revisions were made to the prototype.
https://celenegrantham112287.invisionapp.com/public/share/QZX1H997C#screens/475369265
This was an interesting challenge and the most difficult aspect is the software limitations. Looking at some large scale privacy apps in the market, they usually cost alot of money to develop. For example, Signal was launched in February 2018 with an initial funding of $50 million. This will be a project that I hope a team of developers can help come to fruition. It was educational for me throughout the process and following research and findings, I have now implemented ways to better protect my own privacy.