Trust & Safety Verification
Project
Create flow for three new identity verification options for advanced YouTube channel creators. The goal was to limit bad actors and minimize friction for those abiding by the Community Guidelines.
Project intricacies:
•Technical complexities
•Two points of entry expanded the deliverables
•Edge cases and language nuances created twists and turns
•This was a massive collaboration of over 20 teams across Google and YouTube, including public policy, legal, privacy, and data science
Approach
Conveying the why
In the first round of testing, I noticed creators were upset at the prospect of having to verify their identity. They needed to understand the why. Once they understood that verification would help us keep spammers from the community, their tone completely changed. They wanted to help in the effort to keep things safe, so I led with that message.
Creating information architecture
Creator’s top concerns were:
•Which verification method to choose?
•How long does the verification process take?
•How long would Google keep their ID or video verification?
I addressed their questions with this approach:
•Explained how each verification method works
•Bolded the verification timeframe
•Focused on their goal to access advanced features
•Let them know when their ID or video verification will be deleted
Understanding the motivation
Testimonial
“Bridget is an immensely talented UX Writer that we were really lucky to collaborate with on Trust & Safety. The primary UX challenge was communication and so much of the product’s success is due to her ability to communicate concisely to creators when concepts were nebulous and details were constantly changing.”
Ben H. UX Researcher
In research findings tested at the beginning and end of the project, their motivation remained the same: wanting to keep abusers off the platform and increase security.
Results
•Moved from a detection and enforcement model to prevention
•Success metrics were reached by launch, including an impressively high turnaround rate of video verification reviews and appeals decisions
•Violative content was reduced by a significant percentage and millions of channels were impacted in the target countries
Left purposefully vague to protect company privacy