Stroll Questions are little conversation starters that you create for your matches. They’re fun or thought-provoking prompts that all your matches have to answer in order to unlock their chat with you, vice versa. Kickstart your chats with a punch and watch conversations flow easily with Stroll Questions. No more boring convos.

If you could ask one question to every new person that you meet, what would that be? It’s not just about the answer one  gives, but the questions they ask, that tells a lot about a person.

The chat unlock process was designed to promote more authentic and spontaneous responses. Users were allowed to start their recording process only once, with a 15-minute time limit, and they could only view their match’s Stroll Question after they started their attempt. The combination of these features aimed to encourage spontaneous responses and discourage excessive re-recording that could lead to responses sounding unnatural.

I iterated on the chat unlock flow by simplifying the process and removing unnecessary screens containing instructions, keeping it visually clean and straightforward. We eliminated the time limit and single attempt restriction, allowing users to enter and leave the recording flow as desired within the 3-day validity period for unlocked chats. The Stroll Question is now shown before starting recording, giving users time to think about their answers. These changes aim to create a seamless and stress-free user experience.

A UI challenge within the chat messaging page also surfaced when we noticed while observing user’s in-person app usage, where they were often confused at first glance as to which audio answer and Stroll Question belonged to whom, when they revisited their chats.

The revamp of the chat interface focused on improving the clarity by clearly associating the Stroll Questions and voice answers to the correct users easily. We achieved this by replacing generic audio modals with image players, providing a visual representation of the person speaking. Additionally, I added a personal touch by including a face alongside the Stroll Question, making it feel like a direct interaction with the person asking the question.

This approach allowed users to easily identify who was speaking or whom the Stroll Question belongs to, without relying on written indications, making the conversation interface more simplified. The subtle addition of profile images also significantly increased the sense of personal connection within the chat interface.

During the observation of users’ behaviour in Stroll Bonfire, it became that there was a need to increase user engagement on Bonfire. Most users found the concept of the Bonfire intriguing and enjoyed listening to the answers of other users. However, the level of excitement began to fluctuate with subsequent Bonfire entries. Users expressed hesitancy and uncertainty about entering the Bonfire over time, as there was a lack of feedback or acknowledgement regarding the quality of their responses. The absence of an immediate gratification resulted in diminished motivation to participate in multiple Bonfire cycles.

To tackle the challenge of maintaining engagement in Stroll Bonfire over time, we introduced a new feature called Stroll Claps. This feature allows users to send up to 5 claps to each user’s audio answer that they find captivating. The live clap count feature allows users to express their appreciation for answers they enjoyed listening, even if they don't necessarily intend to match with the user (that is done by sending Butterflies).

The purpose of the multiple clap feature is to allow users to show appreciation for the answers that they like and create a lively and supportive community. It’s important to note that pace of activity of Stroll is slower in comparison to social networking apps like Instagram or TikTok, as our users are exposed to a smaller number of users per day on the Bonfire (approx. 20 per day). The decision to implement multiple claps was intended to provide a slight inflation of the clap count. This helps prevent a monotonous experience where the clap count moves at an extremely slow rate.

To further enhance the liveliness of the Bonfire, we assigned a different vibrant colour to high clap answers, where popular answers can easily be distinguished at first glance. This also serves as an incentive for users to provide higher quality answers in order to garner more claps.

Our new objective is to optimise for the promotion of the app and increase its share-ability on social media platforms. To achieve this, we’re focusing on user-generated content of good Stroll Answers and explore ways to make the content sharing accessible and easily understood by both the sharer and the viewers.

By enhancing the UI and providing sufficient context through app screen recordings, we aim to create intrigue and entice users to share funny Chat Unlock or Bonfire answers, generating interest online and driving user conversions for the app.