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IMPROVING Adoption of Security UPDATES ON INSTAGRAM

Expanding Testing for End-to-end Encryption on Messenger
Timothy Buck, Product Manager, Messenger August 22, 2023

Overview

Upon joining Meta for a second phase of contract work, I stepped into a dynamic and complex project where the need for enhanced user security on Instagram was both urgent and paramount. Meta had announced "Expanding Testing for End-to-end Encryption on Messenger", describing the challenges of bringing additional encryption to Messenger and Instagram DMs. The product team faced downward pressure to improve the user experience and meet deadlines to launch end-to-end encryption on Instagram. With an agile mindset, I navigated the project's twists and turns, leveraging data from qualitative and quantitative methodologies to help convince leadership to craft solutions that resonated deeply with Instagram users. This project was not merely about enhancing security—it was about fortifying trust within Instagram.

Note: Some specific deliverables and details are unavailable due to NDA.

My Role

UX Research Lead

Timeline

July 2023 - February 2024

Impact

  • Increased adoption rate of the security update by ~60%.
  • Limited negative impact to sentiment and engagement with a common feature by contributing insights for major product design pivot.

Photo by cottonbro studio from Pexels

My Process

  1. Met with stakeholders to understand the business problems.
  2. Reviewed previous research to define user problems and craft a project roadmap with stakeholders.
  3. Created research plans that included goals, anticipated impact, research questions, previous research, hypotheses, recruitment specifications, screeners, discussion guides and project timelines.
  4. Gathered and synthesized data into into research reports including insights and user quotes.
  5. Influenced product decisions and impact business outcomes by sharing reports with stakeholders and including them throughout the entire research process.

problem

User Problems

  • Users were unclear how or why their decision to adopt the security update would change the common account feature.
  • Users found it challenging to understand the purpose and utility of the security update and were quickly dismissing the update prompt.

Business Problems

  • The adoption rate of the security update among monthly active users was well below expectations.
  • The security update changed a common account feature and decreased engagement with the feature would slow rollout and launch of the feature.

Methods

Literature Reviews

I defined user problems and hypotheses by creating three literature reviews and a strategic POV of the user problems by reviewing and synthesizing 23 existing research sources.

Diary Study

I managed a two-week long international diary study with over 40 participants to understand the longitudinal experience of a user faced with the decision to adopt the security update.

On-platform Intercept Survey

I created a quantitative on-platform survey to intercept over 500+ users engaging with a common account feature to understand if users cared about how the security update would change that feature.

Usability Tests

I managed two international usability tests with 48 participants to evaluate which of two designs of the security update would improve adoption.

Concept Test

I created and executed an unmoderated concept test with 30 participants in UserZoom to evaluate which of three content variations was most understood by users.

Reflection

  • During this project I learned how to better communicate with senior leadership and stakeholders by being more proactive, concise, and clear during meetings and when presenting deliverables.
  • I was often intimidated by the seniority and expertise of the people I worked with which led to me hesitating to question the purpose of a research request or how exactly the results would be used. In the future, I will be proactive in ensuring that meetings with stakeholders result in more clearly defined business needs.