Safety Personalization
Travelers can set alerts for when a location is beyond their safety threshold.
Problem
Everyone has a different level of risk they’re willing to take when traveling. TripIt’s Neighborhood Safety Scores show address-specific safety scores from 1 to 100, representing low to high risk supplied by a data partner,
Geosure. This information helps users make informed decisions when traveling to unfamiliar places.
I was tasked to design a solution that would allow a user to set a personal risk threshold from the existing scores, and then alert the user when that level had been exceeded.
How might we inform users of their surroundings in unfamiliar locations?
Process
I then took the scale and divided it into 5 risk levels. With collaboration from UX Research, Product, Marketing, and conversations with professionals in the travel industry, I crafted 5 distinct descriptions of lowest risk, low risk, average risk, high risk, and highest risk travelers.
I wasn’t sure at first how to translate the 0 to 100 scale to a user. I considered letting the user pick a value and then alerting them what that value had been exceeded. Did a numerical value? The more I explored this idea, the more I realized there wasn’t enough context to a score.
I needed:
- A flow that allowed users to assess the different levels and choose the one that resonated with them
- An entry point to that screen.
- A way to alert users about plans that exceeded their set risk level in their journey.
I created multiple user flows demonstrating ways users could interact with safety information related to their travel destinations. This includes push notifications, in-app messaging, and email alerts. I reviewed these flows with engineering, product, and customer support for feedback.
Solution
Safety Personalization launched within Neighborhood Safety Scores. Users can set their risk level within their user profile from 5 different levels. When a user’s travel plan is imported, that score for that plan will be compared to a user’s risk level. If the score exceeds the 10 point range for that level, an alert appears in the itinerary.
I designed the slider used in this screen to underline the level of risk associated with each level. As the risk threshold is higher, the warmer the slider becomes. As a user moves the slider, the risk level labels and descriptions change. A toggle allows a user to turn these safety alerts off.
After a selection has been made, users will receive a push notification and an itinerary alert that a travel plan may exceed their risk level.
