While we’re in the spirit of Halloween, let’s discuss mobile personalization that goes too far because… it can be creepy.
To illustrate: If the thriller movie I Know What You Did Last Summer were remade today, Julie wouldn’t get a letter – she’d get a mobile notification, an app developer would be the group’s antagonist, and he’d use their data to stalk and torment them. This update would be a commercial success because it is so relatable considering all the times our apps have revealed that they know way too much about us.
The Fear is Real
The teams behind mobile applications are privileged to a lot of user information. Beyond the interactions within the app, with permission, they can also access a user’s location, contacts, and well – pretty much anything else stored on their phone. There are infinite ways this data can be used for better and for worse but for the sake of a short article we’ll focus on personalization.
Personalization done right can delight users. It’s well known that personalization can improve retention rates and user satisfaction. Consumers generally prefer to be shown content that is relevant to them and their interests. But done wrong, personalization can create an eerie feeling of invasiveness.
Create, customize and deploy interactive guidance applets to capitalize on every touchpoint along your user journey, including everything from acquisition and onboarding, to social shares and reviews.
Despite the fact that most people click “Accept All Terms” without hesitation, studies show that consumers are still concerned with what is happening with their information. There are plenty of reasons why this is a legitimate fear when security breaches are common and the damages range from an annoyance to physically threatening or financially devastating.
Where the Line is Crossed
Consumers are left with questions that are difficult to find answers to: Who has access to their information? Can it be stolen? Will they know if it is? Can it be used against them? Can their data be tracked without their consent? Can it be limited?
Finding an “I know what you clicked last session” notification or feature can push the reputation of the app over the line going from delightful to creepy when one or more of the following criteria is met:
- When it is revealed that the app knows more about you than reasonably expected
- When you can’t identify how the app obtained the data point
- When the data obtained does not in turn provide value to you
- When you sense you cannot limit what data is shared
The common theme that ties this list together is that each “creep” indicator reflects an insecurity in the user’s feeling of privacy. The line between delight and creep-out can be innocently crossed when features created to wow the customer expose the reality of their information’s vulnerability.
The rationale is: if they are able to personalize to this degree, they must have all of this category of data on me which is at risk to be exploited by threats such as internal abusers, government surveillance or cyber-attacks.
On one hand you want to provide a personalized mobile experience to delight the user. On the other hand you don’t want to creep them out. This is why welcome mobile personalization is achieved when there is a balance between making use of the available information and proving the value of having obtained that information.
Unmasking the Monsters
But don’t think that proving value is only about features and benefits. While these are weighed into the value of a personalized user experience, the user also needs to feel secure in their decision to share their information with you.
Create, customize and deploy interactive guidance applets to capitalize on every touchpoint along your user journey, including everything from acquisition and onboarding, to social shares and reviews.
The best way to mitigate the creepiness of you knowing so much about your users is to build trust. This is done by using their information to their benefit, doing so securely and giving them the option to opt-out.
A good example of this trade-off is when Apple CEO Tim Cook took a firm stand against creating a backdoor to allow FBI investigators to break into the phone of the San Bernardino shooters. Although controversial in terms of homeland security, the decision spoke volumes to Apple’s priority of user privacy. The rationale then becomes: Yes, Apple does hold a lot of my data, but they prioritize my privacy and offer me superior personalized products as a result of having it.
There are a lot of examples of companies who make it difficult for the user to opt-out of sharing information let alone know what information of theirs is being shared, but those who do enjoy the benefit of consumers who have made the deliberate choice to share in return for the service or product. Because the choice was the consumers, it’s likely they feel a sense of having purchased the service in exchange for their data.
Even if we only talk about Google search queries on mobile devices (aka micro-moments) any given Google user hands over mountains of information about themselves in return for free access to an organized version of the web – but they don’t have to. Incognito mode grants a layer of privacy but sacrifices the personalized experience which is why the majority of queries are done while logged in. By opening the door for users to walk out, the user doesn’t feel threatened or forced into staying.
After The Costume Party
In a haunted house, it can be a lot of fun to be spooked. But knowing (or even just suspecting) your mobile app is conspiring against you can be terrifying in a way that is all too real. Mobile app developers and UX designers have the responsibility of making sure their app doesn’t cross the “creepy” line in order to give their application the best chance at success. To be clear, that line is defined by us as taking advantage of user data they don’t know you have.
So while you’re in the mood for creepy things, take a moment this Halloween to review how personalized your app is and if it’s scaring away your users.