Yahoo Partner Consent: Defining the Inline Privacy Compliance User Experience
As privacy regulations evolve, I directed the revamp of Yahoo’s Inline Consent experience across brands like Yahoo News and TechCrunch. These brands leverage embedded social media posts to enrich articles, requiring user consent for compliance. The goal was to streamline the consent process, enhance user engagement, and drive revenue while maintaining legal compliance.
Challenges
The previous flow had significant friction! Users had to leave the article, sign in, navigate to Privacy Controls, and guess the correct consent option. After opting in, there was no clear way to return to the article, resulting in low opt-in rates, disengaged users, and a broken experience. This outdated process hindered user trust and missed opportunities to generate revenue through non-personalized data while delivering a seamless, trustworthy experience.
Compliance: Users must meet partner requirements.
Redirected: Sent to a new Privacy Dashboard.
Consent Required: Must "Allow" to terms.
No Auto-Redirect: Users are not returned to the article
Manual Navigation: Must find the original page again
Data Privacy Compliance
As data privacy laws expanded beyond GDPR and CCPA, compliance became critical. Solution needed to meet these evolving standards:
Consent: Users must give informed consent for data collection
Transparency: Clear, honest communication of data practices is essential.
Opt-Out Rights: Empower users to have control over data collection and sharing
Strategy
To address the challenges, we worked with brand properties and publisher partners to reduce friction in the user flow. The new approach enabled users to provide consent inline without leaving the article, unlike the previous user experience flow requiring multiple steps and navigation to Privacy Controls. This strategy aimed to:
Enhance user engagement
Generate revenue by enabling the use of non-personal data
Strengthen brand trust and recognition
Increase opt-in rates
Exploring and Testing
Eye-Catching
Pros: Communicates blocked content clearly, visually engaging.
Cons: Limited specificity in actions.
Big Logo
Pros: Addresses user uncertainty with clear messaging.
Cons: Lacks visual impact and feels intimidating.
Full Copy
Pros: Provides comprehensive information upfront.
Cons: Overwhelms users with too much text.
Eye-Catching design emerged as the most effective, balancing clarity and engagement.
Research and Design Principles
Competitive Analysis
We analyzed various industries that embedded consent within their articles with less friction. The study highlighted effective strategies for integrating compliance seamlessly, offering a clear design approach to balance usability with legal requirements.
Design Workshops
Workshops uncovered ways to streamline user flows while addressing legacy code constraints. By optimizing design hierarchy and formatting, we created a user experience that simplified consent without compromising clarity or compliance
Guiding Principles
The key principles ensured compliance by avoiding non-compliant patterns, designing scalable solutions adaptable across Yahoo’s brands, and prioritizing transparency and clarity to build user trust and improve user engagement.
Overall Results
Compliance Safeguards
The design prioritized regulatory compliance, avoiding components that might be perceived as dark patterns, such as collapsing content under an “Accept” button. By launching the solution on Yahoo News and Sports, achieved measurable success:
A 7% increase in engagement with the inline consent component.
8% of engaged users clicked “Allow,” demonstrating improved interaction and user trust.
Key Success Factors
Collaboration with UXR and content design was central to the project’s success, driving informed and impactful decisions. Conversational language replaced legal jargon, making the messaging more accessible and engaging.
A user-centric approach improved clarity and boosted overall engagement.
The scalable solution effectively balanced compliance requirements with business objectives, ensuring long-term adaptability.
