The Project
Allstate Digital Safety was Allstate's first foray into identity protection. The iOS app helped users visualize, monitor, and take control of their "digital footprint."
Digital Safety operated with a freemium model. One of the first in-app premium features was a password manager I designed from the ground up.
The Convenience Barrier
Whole companies are built around password management. Our team had to quickly orient toward an approach that would create user value even though we would launch with a limited, mobile-only feature set—critically, no browser extensions that automatically capture and autofill passwords.
Our initial user research showed us that many of our target users used browser-based password managers that prioritized convenience over security. Our feature set's lack of convenience was a barrier we would have to overcome to be successful.
We decided to focus on providing security for customers' most important but less frequently accessed accounts. Passwords would still need to be easy to find in the app, but the extra friction our limited feature set caused could add a sense of security over browser-based password managers (and sticky notes).
Finding a Home
Initially, the business wanted the password manager to live in a premium section of the app, only accessible to subscribers. In user research, we saw that this approach confused participants because it required two lists of accounts. The app used one account list on the home screen to show the users their entire digital footprint. A standalone password manager required another account list in the premium section that only included accounts with passwords.
Using those findings, I designed ways to integrate the password manager with the core feature set. This approach made it easier for users to find their passwords and gave the business new opportunities to upsell premium features.
Integrating a Premium Feature
Integrating the password manager into the core experience required two significant changes to the primary account list.
First, we needed to make it possible for users to find passwords as quickly as possible. The team had initially designed the list for people to browse the accounts in their digital footprint, and it would take a lot of scrolling before someone could find their Spotify password. So we added a simple search feature that would narrow the list based on account names and URLs.
Second, the app initially identified accounts by scanning for emails that arrive after someone signs up for a service. Unfortunately, people choose passwords when they first sign up. So we also needed to allow users to add new accounts and passwords to their footprint manually. (We didn't have the luxury of relying on a browser extension to capture new passwords automatically.)
These updates made it possible to integrate the password manager in a way that made passwords feel like they were a meaningful part of a user's digital footprint. They also opened up new ways for users to interact with their footprint, moving the product closer to its goal of being an experience built around curation.
Maintaining Control
We also learned through research that users were uncomfortable ceding total control of password creation to the app. Many were worried about having passwords stored in the app that “only a computer could remember”. And it turns out that diceware phrases are more secure anyway.
The standalone Allstate Digital Safety app has since been rolled into Allstate Identity Protection programs and is available as part of Allstate's iOS and Android apps.