Secure File Sharing: Seamless Collaboration with Privacy

Secure File Sharing: Seamless Collaboration with Privacy

Secure File Sharing: Seamless Collaboration with Privacy

Ouisync is a decentralized P2P file syncing tool for high-risk users like journalists and activists. It enables secure file storage and sharing without central servers.

Users lacked a way to track file activity in shared repositories, causing confusion and a high volume of support tickets. I designed a file activity tracking feature to provide clearer updates while preserving privacy. This led to a 34% reduction in support tickets and a 12% increase in user engagement.

Role

Lead Product Designer

Timeline

3 months (Jul - Sep 24)

Core Responsibilities
Product design, visual design, product strategy, user research

Problem

Users are unable to track file changes, leading to confusion and misalignment in team collaboration

User problem: Users struggled to track file activity in shared repositories, making it hard to see who modified, deleted, renamed, or added files. This led to confusion and miscommunication.

Business problem: A growing number of support tickets highlight user frustrations with missing update alerts, unclear version history, and unexpected file deletions.

Goals

Empowering users with transparent file tracking for better collaboration while ensuring privacy

Our tool is designed with privacy as the top priority, catering to safety-conscious users. Our goal is to provide a seamless way for users to track all file-related actions within shared repositories, helping them stay informed about their sensitive content while enabling effective collaboration without compromising privacy.

Solution

Easy file tracking with flexible privacy settings for better security

Track file changes in real-time on the homepage

Introducing a Recent Activity section on the homepage, giving users a timeline view of file changes with details on who made them, when, and what was updated. This feature enables prompt actions, keeps users informed, and strengthens collaboration and transparency.

Before

After

Stay anonymous while keeping the team informed

For high-risk users who prefer to minimize their digital footprint, we provide an option to remain anonymous in the activity history while still keeping the team informed.

Control how long activity history last

We’ve added a new disappearing activity feature, which lets users set activity history to automatically be deleted after a set period of time. Not all activity needs to stick around forever.

Results

34% Reduction in Support Tickets, 85% Adoption Rate, and 12% Increase in User Retention

After implementing the new features based on user feedback and iterative testing, we saw significant improvements in user experience and a reduction in support tickets.

34%

Reduction in support tickets related to activity tracking and management, as tracked in Zammad

85%

Adoption rate of the activity history feature within the first 4 weeks

12%

Increase in user retention with the newly introduced activity history features

Research

Users use our platform to collaborate on planning political-related events

I conducted a survey with 239 users and collaborated with the Customer Support Team to understand how users interact with the product, their preferences for tracking file updates, and how file changes impact their workflow.

FINDING 1
Tracking for Transparency

65% of users store sensitive files and work with external groups. They need to clearly see who modified files and when, for transparency and accountability.

FINDING 2
Instant File Updates

Users need a clear view of file changes in the repository, reducing the need to ask teammates, especially those in network-restricted regions.

FINDING 3
Digital Footprint Concerns

Even though users wanted to collaborate easily, some were worried about leaving a digital footprint online and wanted to limit their traceability.

Ideation

Exploring how we might help users track file activities easily to minimize confusion while ensuring privacy

Based on research and discussions with the PM, I proposed adding a pin-protected Activity page to each repository, allowing users to track file modifications while addressing privacy concerns.

Approach 1: Timeline View

The timeline view lists activities in order, showing when files were modified. This helps users quickly track recent changes, follow file updates, and stay informed on the latest updates.

Approach 2: Action-Based Filtering

The action-specific filter groups activities by type, like edits, uploads, or deletes. This helps users track specific changes and take prompt action when needed.

Validation

Improving User Confidence Through Effortless Tracking and Privacy Control

We conducted 10 moderated usability tests with users who collaborate on shared repositories. Participants were asked to find file edits and track changes. We observed their navigation of the Activity page and gathered feedback on the pin protection feature to assess privacy concerns.

FINDING 1
Cross-Repository View

Users found checking each repository separately inefficient and preferred a unified view of activity across all repositories.

FINDING 2
Password Hassle

Users found the password protection for the activity page inconvenient, as they didn’t want to enter it every time they wanted to view the changes.

FINDING 3
Privacy concerns

While many users liked the disappearing activity feature, about 1/3 expressed concern about having their names displayed, fearing it could leave a digital footprint.

Iteration

Based on the insights gathered from user testing, we iterated on our initial design solutions, leading to the following narrowed solutions:

Centralized Overview

Users preferred a unified view to track activity across all repositories, saving time and effort.

Stay Anonymous

For high-risk users who prefer to minimize their digital footprint, we provide an option to remain anonymous in the activity history while still keeping the team informed.

Disappearing Activity

Users prefer activity history to be kept only during events like protests or campaigns and deleted afterward, while maintaining security.

Conclusion

Building Secure Solutions for High-Risk Users with Empathy

This was my first time designing for high-risk users, and it came with its own set of challenges, especially when it came to prioritizing safety and privacy. From this project, I gained several key insights:


Designing to Reduce Risk: When designing for high-risk users, security must be the top priority, even if it means sacrificing some functionality. Understanding the context, such as users' needs, risks, vulnerabilities, and legal and ethical considerations, was essential. With this knowledge, I was able to design solutions that protected user data, minimized risks, and still allowed for collaboration and usability.

Flexibility in Research: Conducting user research was particularly challenging, as many users were unwilling to engage directly due to safety concerns. Instead, I leveraged existing industry research to understand the behaviors and needs of these users, allowing me to design with more confidence despite limited user feedback.

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@ Fion Ng 2025