Onboarding Location Permissions: Family Safety
Brief
Microsoft Family Safety is an app that helps build healthy digital habits and keep your family safe in the real world. It relies on location data to locate loved ones and see how they're driving. What's tricky is that location permissions vary depending on which iPhone operating system (iOS) a user has. In addition to general location permission, iOS 14 has the added layer of "precise location" and denying either means the location features won't work.
How might we customize location onboarding for new users based on their iOS version?
Role: UX writer
Worked with: designer and project manager
Challenges
Do you like a lot of screens before you get to experience that great new app you downloaded? How about not understanding why that app needs access to your location at all times? It’s a tough line to walk.
People don't necessary like location tracking and project management has permitted legal to write their own fine print.
It's complicated because there are 4 supported iOS versions and each handles location permissions differently.
Onboarding is long and users might want to skip stuff.
Phones are small, attention spans are short, and we only control the sub header of permission dialogs.
Location feature availability varies by subscription and the user’s geographic location.
Goals
Present value of the feature with the permission needed.
Clearly lay out the path for each iOS version so it's clear when reviewing and for engineers at handoff.
Allow users to skip while understanding what they'll miss by leaving.
Keep it clear and concise.
Solution
I diagramed each flow, color coded screens with the same purpose, and made the language as clear as possible. While it's not as elegant or eloquent as I would like, it is a solution that solves a problem without getting hung up on the constraints.
You can download Family Safety and give it a try for free.
General thoughts
Family Safety gets unfavorable reviews in both app stores. It’s an app that’s not serving kids or parents very well. It’s complicated to set up. The features don’t do all the things. I generally think we bit off more than we could chew with both digital and physical safety.
Microsoft is still trying to figure out how to address the consumer market. Since the product launched in 2020, the team has focused on improving what exists rather than pushing new features.
