Canopy Security · UX Design & Research
Designing Transparent Account Flows to Build Trust
What happens when users can't create or delete their own account without calling support? You find out fast.
Role
Product Designer & Researcher
Platform
iOS & Android
Timeline
~6 weeks
The Problem
Users couldn't manage their own account. In a security app. Let that sink in.
Canopy is a vehicle security app. Think of it as a smart alarm system that lives on your phone. Users trust it with their vehicle, their possessions and tools, their location data, and their personal information. So when I discovered the planned sign up flow required clicking through an external email link and deleting your account meant contacting support and waiting days for confirmation, I knew we had a real problem on our hands.
For a product built on the premise of safety and control, asking users to jump through hoops just to create or remove their own account was doing serious damage to trust. Support tickets were piling up, App Store reviews were flagging the friction, and our onboarding success rate sat at a disappointing 30%. I needed to fix this and fix it in a way that actually felt like Canopy.
The original account creation flow. Users had to enter their email and password, wait for a confirmation email, then leave the app, find the code, come back, and enter it before they could even begin setup. Three apps, two context switches, one frustrated user.
Discovery
I didn't have to look hard. Users were already telling me.
Before touching Figma, I dug into Zendesk tickets, LogRocket session recordings, and a handful of user interviews. The pattern was pretty clear. Users weren't confused about what they wanted. They knew exactly what they wanted. They just couldn't do it.
"I needed to delete my account after running into an issue, but I had to email support and it took over a week to get it done. It was frustrating not having any control on my end."
— Canopy user
"Having to leave the Canopy app to click a link or enter a separate code is frustrating. I feel like I'm going to lose onboarding progress."
— Canopy user
"I opened the app ready to create an account, but there was no clear way to do it. It felt unfinished and made it hard to get started."
— Canopy user
"I was nervous about deleting my account because I had no idea what data would actually be erased and what might be kept. There was no clear explanation."
— Canopy user
Key Insights
Three things users needed that I wasn't giving them.
01
In-app everything
Users expected to create and manage their account entirely within the app, not through external email links or support channels. Every redirect eroded trust.
02
Immediate deletion
Waiting days for account deletion via support felt outdated and disrespectful. Users wanted to pull the trigger themselves, on their own timeline.
03
Data transparency
Users were anxious about what happens to their data when they delete. They needed a clear, honest breakdown of what stays and what goes, with no ambiguity.
The Reframe
I thought it was a UX problem. It was actually a trust problem.
Early on, I framed this as a friction problem with too many steps and too many redirects. But the more I dug in, the more I realized the real issue was trust. Every time a user had to leave the app to sign up, or contact a human to delete their account, they were implicitly being told: "You don't fully own this experience."
That reframe changed everything about how I approached the solution. I wasn't just streamlining a flow. I was handing control back to the user. That meant clearer copy, explicit data transparency, immediate deletions with no waiting period, and an experience that felt like Canopy was on their side rather than in their way.
The Solution: Account Creation
Fast, native, and out of the way.
The new account creation flow lives entirely inside the app. First-time users are automatically detected and routed into creation. No more hunting for a signup button or clicking through email links. Just email and password, then straight into setup. I deliberately cut the email confirmation step from the original flow. It added friction without meaningfully improving security for this use case, and users were abandoning right at that point. Simpler is faster, and faster builds trust.
I also placed account creation inside the onboarding checklist as a step rather than a gate. This meant users could see what they were signing up for before committing, which actually increased completion.
The final account creation flow: splash screen, email and password entry, straight into setup. No confirmation code, no external redirects.
The Solution: Account Deletion
If you want to leave, you should be able to leave. Immediately.
This was the more emotionally charged half of the project. Deleting an account is an inherently anxious action. Users are wondering what happens to their data, whether it's actually permanent, and whether they'll regret it. My job was to make the process feel controlled and trustworthy, not bureaucratic.
The flow lives in Settings, then Account, then Delete Account. I added a reason-selection step, both to gather product data and to give users a natural moment to pause, followed by an explicit data transparency screen that lists exactly what gets erased. No vague "your data will be removed" language. A real list. Then a final confirmation and immediate deletion. No waiting. No emailing support. No limbo.
The full account deletion flow: from Settings to confirmed deletion. Transparent, immediate, respectful.
Key Design Decisions
Three calls that shaped the final product.
01
Explicit data transparency over vague reassurance
I could have gone with a generic 'Your data will be deleted' message. Instead I built a full list of what gets erased: name, email, device info, activity history, emergency history, support data. It added a step but massively reduced anxiety. Users who know exactly what's happening feel in control. Users who don't, don't.
02
Immediate deletion, not deferred deletion
There was a product debate about adding a 30-day account recovery window. My pushback: users who want to delete their account don't want a safety net they didn't ask for. They want the decision respected. I kept it immediate. The data backs this up: deletion-related support tickets dropped 22% post-launch.
03
First-time user detection over a visible signup button
Rather than adding a 'Create Account' button to the login screen, I detect first-time users automatically and route them into creation. This keeps the login screen clean for returning users and ensures new users get a guided experience rather than a blank form.
Outcomes
Numbers that actually moved.
18%
Increase in successful signups post-launch
22%
Decrease in account deletion support tickets
6 → 3
Steps to create an account, down from the original flow
Reflection
What I'd do differently.
If I could go back, I'd push harder for a password strength indicator during account creation. I scoped it out due to engineering constraints, but it's one of those small touches that would have meaningfully improved the experience for security-conscious users. Given it's a security app, that's basically everyone.
I'd also want to run a longer post-launch usability study on the deletion flow specifically. The metrics were positive, but I'm curious whether users actually read the data transparency list or just scroll past it. If they're skipping it, the design isn't doing the work it's supposed to. That's the kind of thing you only learn by watching real people use it.