User Authentication
01
Context
Flickr was a photo and video hosting service and an online community for photographers. In 2018, Flickr was acquired by SmugMug from Yahoo. One of our top priorities was to build a new login and registration system to migrate users from Yahoo-only authentication. This feature was the top requested product improvement by Flickr users.
The new authentication system was part of the largest data migration in the company’s history, which involved the transfer of over 100 million user accounts from Yahoo’s data centers to Amazon Web Services (AWS).
As one of the first new features to be developed under SmugMug’s ownership, it was essential to build trust with our users by delivering an exceptional authentication experience.
02
Goals
03
Planning
The new authentication system would span three domains: Flickr, Amazon Cognito, and Yahoo. The wireframe was a critical document to ensure teams and stakeholders were aligned on the project plan. We discussed what user flows were being built, what data were needed, and which domain was responsible for each step of the experience.
User journeys included:
The authentication system would be cross-platform, built to function on desktop, tablets, and apps. It would initially be accessed as a web view on iOS and Android until it could be built natively.
04
Discovery
For common flows such as registration and login, we looked at other popular services with similar data collection needs as part of a competitive analysis. We discussed implementation approaches including visual presentation, interactions, and UX writing.
Our system would need an additional user flow to migrate accounts off of Yahoo and onto Cognito. We paid special attention to the design of this migration flow, as it touched all three domains and would feel unfamiliar to our users.
We tested several rounds of prototypes with live users to understand their journeys and refine the designs.
05
Designs
We received consistent feedback during our discovery phase that users were nervous about this change. So, it was important to build trust through the design that this new system was robust and reliable.
We also coordinated with our customer service, marketing, and community teams to create support materials, including comprehensive help documentation and step-by-step walk through videos.
06
Launch
The new user authentication system was launched in a slow rollout to monitor system stability and fix bugs. Logged in users could self-select into the migration flow through a banner invitation in the product. We invited users to leave us feedback about the new system in our Help Forum, which also helped us track down elusive bugs and edge cases.
After a few weeks of limited release, the system was consistently stable and critical bugs were fixed. We sent emails to all registered accounts and invited them to migrate, then updated the user registration flow to point to the new system.
Updated my two accounts with new logins, one pro and one free account and all went well! I Used non-yahoo email address and new passwords on both. Very easy to change over!
RV John, FLICKR PRO + MEMBER SINCE 2013
Well I’ve just done mine, via the blue banner and so far, all seems well. It asked me for my preferred email and gave me a choice of my yahoo email or my bt one. So far, so good – fingers tightly crossed!
Maria H., Flickr Pro + MEMBER SINCE 2008
I took a deep deep breath, touched wood, put a glass of fresh water beside me…. and clicked “update”. My hands trembled slightly. [I went through the migration flow.] Suddenly…. a flash… and there was my Flickr Home Page.
Heaved a sigh of relief.
Mabel A., Flickr Pro + MEMBER SINCE 2008
07
Results
