[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":357},["ShallowReactive",2],{"casestudy-where_does_an_onboarding_end":3},{"title":4,"slug":5,"body":6,"technique":242,"project":248},"Where does an onboarding end?","where_does_an_onboarding_end",{"data":7,"body":8},{},{"type":9,"children":10},"root",[11,20,27,33,38,82,86,92,98,114,119,124,150,153,159,165,170,175,180,228,231,237],{"type":12,"tag":13,"props":14,"children":16},"element","h6",{"id":15},"the-problem",[17],{"type":18,"value":19},"text","The problem",{"type":12,"tag":21,"props":22,"children":24},"h1",{"id":23},"the-gap-between-promise-and-proof",[25],{"type":18,"value":26},"The gap between promise and proof",{"type":12,"tag":28,"props":29,"children":30},"p",{},[31],{"type":18,"value":32},"By the time a user opens an app for the first time, expectations have already been set; through ads, a landing page, word of mouth, or an App Store description. It is the product that must then deliver on those promises. This alignment is especially critical during onboarding. For a product like Yonly, where the core value is intentionally hidden from view, this stage can be particularly challenging.",{"type":12,"tag":28,"props":34,"children":35},{},[36],{"type":18,"value":37},"The research set out to answer three questions: how do users feel about privacy, how do they perceive Yonly as a product, and where does the onboarding experience succeed or fall short?",{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":40,"children":49},"div",{"className":41},[42,42,43,44,45,46,47,48],"gallery-block","container","mx-auto","h-max","p-5","py-20","lg:py-28",[50,52],{"type":18,"value":51},"\n  ",{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":53,"children":57},{"className":54},[55,56],"tile","is-ancestor",[58,60,81],{"type":18,"value":59},"\n   ",{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":61,"children":65},{"className":62},[55,63,64],"is-12","is-parent",[66,68,80],{"type":18,"value":67},"\n    ",{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":69,"children":73},{"className":70},[55,71,72],"is-child","box",[74,79],{"type":12,"tag":75,"props":76,"children":78},"img",{"src":77},"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F6Maa5Jaiz2Lm3lXEsfdlau\u002F45efab61e0650268be680b17d4e9b79b\u002FuserJourneyOld.png?w=1400",[],{"type":18,"value":67},{"type":18,"value":59},{"type":18,"value":51},{"type":12,"tag":83,"props":84,"children":85},"hr",{},[],{"type":12,"tag":13,"props":87,"children":89},{"id":88},"the-research",[90],{"type":18,"value":91},"The research",{"type":12,"tag":21,"props":93,"children":95},{"id":94},"the-insight-hiding-in-research-guide",[96],{"type":18,"value":97},"The insight hiding in research guide",{"type":12,"tag":28,"props":99,"children":100},{},[101,103,112],{"type":18,"value":102},"Unmoderated interviews were conducted through the ",{"type":12,"tag":104,"props":105,"children":109},"a",{"href":106,"rel":107},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.userlytics.com",[108],"nofollow",[110],{"type":18,"value":111},"Userlytics",{"type":18,"value":113}," platform, managed by the UX researcher. Participants were evenly split between iOS and Android users, creating a diverse pool to surface a broad range of attitudes and behaviours.",{"type":12,"tag":28,"props":115,"children":116},{},[117],{"type":18,"value":118},"The research combined attitudinal questions with scenario-based testing. Participants were asked to switch Yonly on, browse their favourite websites, then open the dashboard again. What they found surprised them: in just a short amount of time, the numbers had filled up. Trackers blocked, ads stopped, a profile built. The reaction was immediate and genuine; nobody expected that much to have happened so quickly.",{"type":12,"tag":28,"props":120,"children":121},{},[122],{"type":18,"value":123},"That moment became the product idea. The research guide became the design brief. If this was the moment that made the value of Yonly real and felt, then the onboarding needed to be redesigned to recreate it deliberately; not as a test scenario, but as the natural first experience of the product.",{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":125,"children":127},{"className":126},[42,42,43,44,45,46,47,48],[128,129],{"type":18,"value":51},{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":130,"children":132},{"className":131},[55,56],[133,134,149],{"type":18,"value":59},{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":135,"children":137},{"className":136},[55,63,64],[138,139,148],{"type":18,"value":67},{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":140,"children":142},{"className":141},[55,71,72],[143,147],{"type":12,"tag":75,"props":144,"children":146},{"src":145},"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F2DKHDFMm3uqiLSsKvkA7TM\u002Ff9bd9ee270c286c51b10e1ed393d7e1b\u002Fnote.png",[],{"type":18,"value":67},{"type":18,"value":59},{"type":18,"value":51},{"type":12,"tag":83,"props":151,"children":152},{},[],{"type":12,"tag":13,"props":154,"children":156},{"id":155},"the-solution",[157],{"type":18,"value":158},"The solution",{"type":12,"tag":21,"props":160,"children":162},{"id":161},"stop-explaining-start-showing",[163],{"type":18,"value":164},"Stop explaining. Start showing.",{"type":12,"tag":28,"props":166,"children":167},{},[168],{"type":18,"value":169},"Based on the research findings, several key adjustments were made to the onboarding. The quirky GIFs that tried to communicate the product value in a lighthearted way were removed; they were not working, and in a security context they created the wrong tone.",{"type":12,"tag":28,"props":171,"children":172},{},[173],{"type":18,"value":174},"In their place, the dashboard itself became the hero. When the user switches Yonly on, the interface reacts: the button shifts from red to blue, the illustrations transition into protection mode, and the whole dashboard comes alive with colour. The idea is that once turned on, everything works together visibly; the protection is not just running, it looks like it is running.",{"type":12,"tag":28,"props":176,"children":177},{},[178],{"type":18,"value":179},"And rather than waiting 24 hours, a notification was triggered once 100 trackers were collected; bringing users back to the dashboard at the moment when the wow factor was highest.",{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":181,"children":183},{"className":182},[42,42,43,44,45,46,47,48],[184,185,206,207],{"type":18,"value":51},{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":186,"children":188},{"className":187},[55,56],[189,190,205],{"type":18,"value":59},{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":191,"children":193},{"className":192},[55,63,64],[194,195,204],{"type":18,"value":67},{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":196,"children":198},{"className":197},[55,71,72],[199,203],{"type":12,"tag":75,"props":200,"children":202},{"src":201},"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F454eQIvk1trEh7HNgopunV\u002Fab76452c0e55da47962ac7b3233570b3\u002FuserJourney.png?w=1400",[],{"type":18,"value":67},{"type":18,"value":59},{"type":18,"value":51},{"type":18,"value":51},{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":208,"children":210},{"className":209},[55,56],[211,212,227],{"type":18,"value":59},{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":213,"children":215},{"className":214},[55,63,64],[216,217,226],{"type":18,"value":67},{"type":12,"tag":39,"props":218,"children":220},{"className":219},[55,71,72],[221,225],{"type":12,"tag":75,"props":222,"children":224},{"src":223},"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F7irEZCleErTsQTPlqO3Uz2\u002F185942deec4e335ea43b86b02d695660\u002FuserJourneyNew.png?w=1400",[],{"type":18,"value":67},{"type":18,"value":59},{"type":18,"value":51},{"type":12,"tag":83,"props":229,"children":230},{},[],{"type":12,"tag":13,"props":232,"children":234},{"id":233},"the-conclusion",[235],{"type":18,"value":236},"The conclusion",{"type":12,"tag":28,"props":238,"children":239},{},[240],{"type":18,"value":241},"While other product decisions followed from this research, this case study focuses specifically on how the onboarding was redesigned to create a faster, cleaner, and more impactful first experience. The research did not just validate assumptions; it reframed what onboarding was supposed to achieve in an unexpected way.",[243,244,245,246,247],"Cluster Analysis","Cognitive Walkthrough","User Journey","Unmoderated Interviews","User testing",{"metadata":249,"sys":252,"fields":273},{"tags":250,"concepts":251},[],[],{"space":253,"id":258,"type":259,"createdAt":260,"updatedAt":261,"environment":262,"publishedVersion":266,"revision":267,"contentType":268,"locale":272},{"sys":254},{"type":255,"linkType":256,"id":257},"Link","Space","8fhxjm7547cq","4neZFwqhUJq8aAscTPKv4K","Entry","2020-11-30T23:23:37.641Z","2026-09-12T14:39:52.912Z",{"sys":263},{"id":264,"type":255,"linkType":265},"master","Environment",1033,175,{"sys":269},{"type":255,"linkType":270,"id":271},"ContentType","project","en-US",{"title":274,"teaser":275,"slug":276,"type":277,"highlight":281,"order":282,"thumbnail":283,"herocolor":309,"year":310,"problem":311,"outcome":312,"press":325,"contribution":331,"content":334,"thankYou":335,"readNext":336,"casestudies":339},"Yonly","Keeping your online world private through tunneling, ad filtering, and prevention tools.","yonly",[278,279,280],"Client","UX","Case Study",false,78,{"metadata":284,"sys":287,"fields":298},{"tags":285,"concepts":286},[],[],{"space":288,"id":290,"type":291,"createdAt":292,"updatedAt":293,"environment":294,"publishedVersion":296,"revision":297,"locale":272},{"sys":289},{"type":255,"linkType":256,"id":257},"4JI1Wp7EebFMRDemG3TM5l","Asset","2021-04-25T18:55:19.334Z","2021-04-27T18:39:55.628Z",{"sys":295},{"id":264,"type":255,"linkType":265},10,3,{"title":299,"file":300},"yonlyHeader",{"url":301,"details":302,"fileName":307,"contentType":308},"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F4JI1Wp7EebFMRDemG3TM5l\u002Ff6454a76c1fe99c5bf9597cd03b7010b\u002FyonlyHeader__3_.png",{"size":303,"image":304},2872876,{"width":305,"height":306},2880,1752,"yonlyHeader (3).png","image\u002Fpng","001FF5",2020,"Most people get a VPN because something made them uneasy. Being tracked, data being sold, a vague sense of exposure they cannot quite name. The concern is real. The threat stays abstract. And that creates an unusual design problem: the product's core value is invisible by design. Yonly is a lightweight VPN built around a specific position; just enough encryption to hide your identity from internet service providers and trackers, without touching speed. The technology was solid when I joined. What needed work was making any of that felt.",[313,316,319,322],{"number":314,"description":315},"4+","ratings in the Playstore and Appstore",{"number":317,"description":318},"75%","conversation rate on Profiler feature",{"number":320,"description":321},"↓","empty support ticket",{"number":323,"description":324},"30K","users before sunset",[326],{"quote":327,"source":328},"Yonly's design is simple and informative, even if it highlights problems that can't be solved with its tools.",{"link":329,"title":330},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pcmag.com\u002Freviews\u002Fbitdefender-yonly-for-android","PC MAG",[332,333],"User Experience","Product Design","###### The observation\n# One button. That is the whole story.\nA VPN does its best work in the background. Yonly stops trackers, hides your identity, filters ads, none of it visible. You do not see what it catches. You do not notice the speed difference unless you are looking for it. For someone who just installed the app, it can feel like nothing is happening at all.\n\nThe design response was not to explain more. It was to make the one thing the user does feel like it counts. When you switch Yonly on, the interface reacts. Red turns to blue. Illustrations shift. The dashboard lights up. The button gives the user a moment of agency and gives the product a moment to perform. That single interaction ends up carrying a lot of weight.\n\n::gallery\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"8\" start=\"3\" width=\"1800\" src=\"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F141mT9RCer8Mg9NhDmZmv9\u002Fa0cabb0cc125e160a663141d7ebf8dab\u002FyonlyDashBoard__1_.png\"}\n  ::\n::\n\n---\n\n###### The onboarding\n\n# Making VPN simple, clear, and personal\n\nThe onboarding was redesigned around one insight: it does not end when the setup flow does. It ends when the user sees something real. The first time the dashboard shows actual blocked trackers from actual browsing; that might come minutes after install or hours later.\n\nThe onboarding runs in two acts. The first gets the user through a clear, frictionless flow and to the button. The second is a notification that brings them back when the dashboard has something worth showing. The wow moment is the data and the animation together; proof the app has been running while they went about their day.\n\nThe visual style came from the agency. The design system was built on top of it. One decision, one button, one clear state.\n\n[Read how the onboarding was designed](\u002Fproject\u002Fyonly\u002Fwhere_does_an_onboarding_end)\n\n::gallery\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"6\" start=\"2\" src=\"\u002F\u002Fvideos.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F1TumeEvFMh7Oa8MKduLUjQ\u002Fc4c9b6245998d81dd87f4e979cd58094\u002FyonlyOnboarding.mp4\"}\n  ::\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"4\" width=\"800\" fit=\"true\" src=\"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F3ZJwMfwxX9UC69T8XF5GpJ\u002Fd1797478f9ad7c3e1845e1d04c37788f\u002FyonlyNotifications__2_.png\"}\n  ::\n::\n\n---\n\n###### The dashboard\n# Numbers without context are just noise\nThe dashboard redesign started from a simple problem: a thousand blocked ads does not mean much on its own. The question is what that actually represents; what was not collected, what was kept private, what it adds up to.\n\nThe redesign reframed the data around what it means rather than how much there is. The dashboard becomes something that gives people a reason to keep the app, not just a record of activity.\n\n::gallery\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"6\" src=\"\u002F\u002Fvideos.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F1FpLosV6ui7dE4XZEeuNfO\u002F0b4750bbd2cd5cb88544f5a1e333d468\u002FcritThreat.mp4\"}\n  ::\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"6\" width=\"900\"  src=\"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F1tDnEtWMhZgGoXe8DVMWTA\u002F4d3ef5d7d3265b395857b5683967c22d\u002FyonlyTrackers.png\"}\n  ::\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"6\" width=\"900\"  src=\"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F6V6ZCPnPKsJExhjkHfVmLc\u002F66ee08f1ca713f656dc26ca6d7c2d86c\u002FyonlySecuredTraffic.png\"}\n  ::\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"6\" width=\"900\"  src=\"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F6NkLLHAz4DmwRkWyUDdr2q\u002F475ddabfdd6de3ce3df16387b22610cb\u002FyonlyProfilers.png\"}\n  ::\n::\n\n---\n\n###### The campaign\n# Don't feed the big data monster\nThe campaign was built with the PM to give Yonly a standalone argument against big data dependency. Rather than treating data collection as an abstract risk, the concept gives it a character; something with a face, an appetite, a name. Easier to push back against something you can point at. The tone stays approachable rather than alarming, which is where most privacy campaigns tend to lose people.\n\n::gallery\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"5\" width=\"1200\" src=\"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F6q5nl8nYbgnDMtWNOVEDJw\u002Fae691829a811f3d2b285df0df05edb87\u002FyonlyMessagingShark.png\"}\n  ::\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"5\" width=\"1200\" src=\"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F1SJ16saW3JkOoq3knmyn4F\u002F92feb51736f3e5a2b317a6bf7020ede0\u002FyonlyMessagingDataMonster.png\"}\n  ::\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"5\" start=\"3\" width=\"1200\" src=\"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F2Xn8kT7Q8IFDRfiaTirvVM\u002Fc75d8b34e942b2922fb8101872b5c21c\u002FyonlyMessagingVPN.png\"}\n  ::\n  ::gallery-item{span=\"5\" width=\"1200\" fit=\"true\" src=\"\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002F8fhxjm7547cq\u002F6lbwuQVGStyb7owha7woiH\u002F84361ca001d155f0572dde48c4d64bcf\u002FyonlyMessagingMeow.png\"}\n  ::\n::\n","Thanks to Dan for the project management, Radu for the motion design and illustrations, Adina for the amazing copy, and David for the initial UX design and consul.",{"sys":337},{"type":255,"linkType":259,"id":338},"1ZXub0XDOGb5lfP1R0257X",[340],{"metadata":341,"sys":344},{"tags":342,"concepts":343},[],[],{"space":345,"id":347,"type":259,"createdAt":348,"updatedAt":349,"environment":350,"publishedVersion":352,"revision":353,"contentType":354,"locale":272},{"sys":346},{"type":255,"linkType":256,"id":257},"2aaova6wSLaJvccqZNNN8u","2021-10-30T18:31:41.728Z","2026-05-10T15:54:33.107Z",{"sys":351},{"id":264,"type":255,"linkType":265},486,33,{"sys":355},{"type":255,"linkType":270,"id":356},"casestudy",1791308692972]