Airbnb's lengthy, complex privacy policy often goes unread as it overwhelms its users. Consequently, the practice of reviewing and scanning their messaging platform is overlooked. This practice deserves more attention as chatrooms between hosts and customers mistakenly convey a sense of privacy unlike open spaces such as host reviews. With that,
I added an optional pop-up that informs users of their privacy in the chatroom. The guiding prompt for the popup is located above the message input box, offering a constant yet subtle reminder without overwhelming users with excessive information. The language is kept plain and minimal. Icons were used for faster recognition of information.
This is how Airbnb's chatroom looks like without the added feature design.
Airbnb’s privacy policy and terms of service were reviewed to discover potential areas where data transparency could be improved.
I explored the existing privacy interface and found issues like lengthy paragraphs, absence of graphics/icons, and the use of technical terms (e.g., "nr-data.net" and "Inspectlet") which introduced ambiguity for average users unfamiliar with these terms.
Users’ age, gender, and geographic location were discovered to gain context and a better understanding of the users.
Around 46% of users are male, 54% female.
25 - 40
Millennials are the largest user group at around 60%.
Europe has the highest demand for Airbnb.
Two user flows were created to further identify areas of improvement in data transparency from the perspective of new users. The first flow focused on the onboarding process of the app, including the initial agreement of terms and services and privacy policy, with particular attention given to how these policies were made accessible to users. The second flow focused on the process of requesting a personal data report, clarifying how this feature could be found and the steps users needed to take to obtain their report.
After identifying areas for data transparency improvement through policy examination, in-app privacy features, and user flows, I chose to concentrate on enhancing privacy practices in host-guest chatrooms. This area required the most attention as these chatrooms often mistakenly convey a sense of privacy unlike open spaces like host reviews.
A user persona was created based on the collected information about user demographics. The persona emphasized the primary frustration among users: difficulty in locating privacy policies and challenges in comprehending lengthy paragraphs of information.
Three problems were identified in how users find and understand Airbnb's privacy policies and terms of service agreements. These problems became the guiding principles in the prototyping phases.
The privacy policy and terms of service agreement are written in complex legal language that the average user may not understand. They are also quite lengthy, requiring users to scroll extensively to find the specific section they are seeking.
.gif)
Using images and icons to convey information is an effective way to simplify complex concepts and facilitate quick and efficient understanding. However, in Airbnb's legal documents, images and icons were rarely used, which slowed down the interpretation of information.
Putting the Privacy Policy in the "Legal" section within the "Profile" tab is a good idea, but it's quite a long route for users who want to know about chatroom privacy. They'd have to go through "Profile," then "Legal," then "Privacy Policy," and scroll down to find the chatroom privacy section. And that's if they even know or care about the legal stuff.This hidden location of legal documents makes it less likely that users will be curious or engaged with the chatroom privacy practices.
I explored four different methods of informing users about their privacy in the in-app messaging system using mid-fidelity prototypes, labeled as A, B, C, and D, followed by design iterations indicated by numbers. Each of the iterations were given feedback
Prototype A features a small information icon (i in a circle) at the top right corner of the chat room. Upon tapping, a pop-up shows that covers the privacy policy in more detail. Different placements of the icon were explored.
Peer feedback:
- The information icon is not enticing enough to be tapped on, but I like it as a constant reminder.
- The information icon makes it look like it’s about to reveal information specific to the chat content.
- The information icon is not eye-catching and can be easily ignored.
- The information icon is too small and hard to see.
Prototype B features a short statement outlining that Airbnb has access to user chat info, which sits above the text input box. Users are given the option to reveal more details about how and why Airbnb might review and scan their messages by tapping "Learn more." Minor design iterations, such as exploring different icon placements, were made.
Peer feedback:
- The information icon on the left side is better.
- I like the clarity of Design B compared to the ambiguous Design A.
- The statement is hard to miss, highly visible.
- I like that it gives users the option to learn more.
Prototype C features a new tab labeled "Information" on the inbox page. The red dot beside the inbox icon at the bottom navigation bar acts as a visual prompt to direct users to review Airbnb's privacy policy on messaging systems. The notification is cleared once the user taps "Done."
Peer feedback:
- I like that the user is forced to clear it off by actually reading it.
- I feel like I would just press "Done" to make the notification go away without actually reading it.
- Maybe change "Done" to "Agree."
Prototype D is similar to prototype C, but reduces a step in between. Now users can directly access the detailed outline of the privacy policy in the messaging system by tapping on the information tab. Icon size and placement were further explored.
Peer feedback:
- Iteration with the bigger icons looks awkward and not cohesive with the title.
- I like the left-aligned small icons better as they look more visually secure.
- Combine B and D to ensure that users are aware of this policy.
Prototype B was chosen to be developed into interactive high-fidelity wireframes. What sets prototype B apart from the others is that the design is deeply attached to the contents of the message. Prototypes C and D sit outside of the chat room, while prototype B can be accessed right inside the chat room. Users have access to the message content and a reminder that Airbnb has access to this message content at the same time, making it the most accessible and straightforward way to remind and inform users of this policy.
I started prototyping with mid-fidelity designs in this project because I wanted to make it easier for others to interpret and understand the designs during feedback sessions. In hindsight, this approach slowed down the ideation process as my focus and energy shifted towards making things neat and accurate, rather than getting many ideas out fast. I also noticed myself becoming attached to designs that took more time to create mid-fidelity wireframes, eventually forming biases towards certain designs.
I learned that creating many low-fidelity wireframes quickly works better for my personal workflow as it helps me get into the flow state where I can explore a wide range of possible solutions without feeling blocked.
