TextSafe is a mobile
app, which provides users the ability to store/archive text messages and share
this text history. This allows for important data to be safely backed up and
easily restored. In addition, TextSafe provides user-friendly functions for
handling the users’ text message history, such as: search, sort and filter
their archive; manage favorites list; set-up automatic scheduled backup;
manually upload/store selected messages; share text messages on social media
platforms, such as via email, facebook, twitter, and thumblr; and finally, the
app includes a module to manage storage with the option to purchase additional
backup space as needed.
Many people rely heavily on information
obtained through text messages. They store history of text messages as a
valuable resource of information. Whether it’s for legal, personal or business
reasons, today's smartphone user will at some point utilize not only their texts,
but also the history related to them. According to a recent study by CTIA
in 2010, the volume of global SMS has grown every year and was forecasted to
reach about 3,700 billion in 2012. Text messages not only include a direct link
to people’s history and daily events, but may also serve as proof of certain
business conducts.
Unfortunately, when the mobile device
needs repair and requires a fresh installation of the operating system, the
text message history cannot be recovered and stored. The only history the user
is able to recover at this point is from whatever their local phone company has
stored on their servers. In most cases this is only 2-4 weeks worth of data.
Consequently, the history of text messages in the users device is lost along
with critical information, which is highly important to the mobile device
owner. Reports from iPhone technical support at Apple, for example,
demonstrates the high amount of clients’ requests to recover their lost text
messages. Unfortunately, no resolution is yet to be found.
Our target range is a young adult to early
50's. Our application can be used for any important business messages,
archiving cute texts from your ex (even though you shouldn't) and even saving
those funny conversations to show off on date when you have nothing to talk
about. For the moments when text messages are needed during legal issues, the
messages can be archived and shared showing both time/date stamps as well as
attendants in the conversation.
When thinking about building this app
research became integral to the need and design. We gathered data from actual
Apple retail employees on the percentage of iphone customers who use their text
messages. Of those, we gathered data on those who store data in their texts and
who would benefit from our application. In a two-week period, we found 98% of
customers used their text messaging on their devices. Of those, 87 customers
(roughly 35%) found their text messages invaluable and could not lose them
during a restore or triage process.
When this occurs, the only option
available to them is to do screen shots, or copy and paste the data to an email
and send it to their own phone. Both of these options however, lose the
time/date stamp as well as the contextual history of the messages. Then we
interviewed users of mobile phones and discussed the premise of our
application. Over 50 users were asked about the concept and its viability. When
asked what they would need in order for the application to be beneficial to
them, they were very helpful. While we had already included some items that
were universally needed (i.e. upload and archive), customers and interviewees
added additional features like favorites, search functionality, additional
storage options and the ability to share messages to social media and external
storage options (i.e. dropbox).
We also found another aspect to research
for this project. We took time to research the current coding technologies to
see if what we designed can be feasibly built. We designed an app for the
iphone 5. During research, we discovered the screen size for design is set to
320 X 568px. As such, you will find all of our pages fit these dimensions. We
also researched other popular apps like Facebook, Dropbox and Instagram to see
best practices and what users would look for in UI and design concepts. The
article from smashing magazine was key in thinking about layout and design for
this project (http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2013/03/28/mastering-real-world-constraints/). It’s a great case study and help with
research questions when designing for mobile usage. Many companies think their
sites or apps are universal, but they are not.
To use TextSafe,
the user is required to register and create an account; the account establishes
a secured handling of the user’s data as the user must provide username and
password to access and manage their data. Once launching the app, a login page
appears asking for the user’s credentials. For new users, an option to sign-up
and register is immediately accessible from the login page. A quick
registration process will collect some basic user’s data, register their
credentials, and confirm their registration and the activation of their
account. In case, a user has forgotten their password, a link to securely
retrieve the password is provided as well.
Once the user is
logged into the app, they are taken to the main homepage, or dashboard. From
here they have full access to the various options, functions, and tasks that
the app provides. These options includes, browsing through their text-messages
history, uploading/storing selected messages; managing and browsing their
favorites text-message list, and accessing the settings section for managing
auto-upload, storage status, and turning on or off sounds and notifications. In
addition, the user is provided with an option to securely logout from the app.
The Text-History
section provides a quick access for viewing text-message history that the user
uploaded/backed-up, along with useful functions for sorting through and
managing their archive. TextSafe
provides the user the option to search and sort the archive by name (sender) or
by date; delete unwanted messages; select favorites ones and add them to a
dedicated favorites list; and even share text-messages from the archive with
friends by submitting them to social media platforms, such as facebook,
thumblr, and twitter, and/or simply, send them as an email message.
The Favorites
section is a module in the app that gathers all the text messages that the user
marked as favorites. This module provides quick access to favorite messages and
includes the same filtering and sharing options that exist in the Text-History
section, i.e. sort by name, by date, share on facebook, thumblr, twitter, and
email.
The Upload module is
designed to allow the user with a quick manual backup if and when needed. The
user is provided with several options: they can select to back up their entire
messages, select text messages of specific contacts, select specific dates, or
select individual messages. By providing the user with the manual option for
uploading, or backing up, their text-messages, the user has more control on the
backup process, as they are not entirely dependent on the schedule backup
process, which could be turned on or off as needed.
The settings
section provides the user with important options that are crucial to the
behavior of the app. As part of the settings, the user can configure the
auto-upload (backup) option, they can choose whether they want it active or not
by turning it on or off, and set a schedule for the auto backup process.
Furthermore, they can set up filtering rules for the backup, such as uploading
all messages, or uploading only messages from specific contacts.
Another important
feature in the settings section is the option to monitor the status of their
storage space. Overtime, the storage space tends to get full, therefore, the
user can check and see their usage status and make crucial decisions such as
whether they should delete some old data, or purchase addition storage. A
secure payment method is managed directly from the app, and a payment history
is provided as well so the user could track their payments. The settings
section also provides the user with the option to control the sound and
notifications of the app simply by turning options on or off. While some users
are accustomed to and need an audio feedback, such as for completion of tasks,
other may prefer a quiet mode. The app, therefore, is designed with the
flexibility to fit the user needs while providing important features for
managing and handling common tasks.
The design of this
application was based on a few things: simplicity, familiarity and convenience.
We chose the colors, light blue, green-yellow and whitish grey because most
iphone users are used to seeing those colors when they text message. That
feeling of familiarity is something that we wanted to evoke in the user. By
doing so, the user can feel a connection towards the application and reuse it.
This color scheme also is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Since this
application is open to iphone users and android users of a spectrum of ages, we
wanted to choose colors that are almost timeless.
The design we
chose was to be simple. Seeing that this is an archive of information, we
wanted to place things on the application so that it wouldn’t be hard to find.
We designed it so that the user has full control over what he/she is clicking
on, where to go next and how to check for their history, as well as share and sort
it. We looked at the design of gmail, which is also a form of an archive and
really liked the idea of having a check box next to the messages. That way a user can know where to click in
order to delete or sort their files.
Our choice of a
logo was a lock. We wanted to convey the message of safety. By using this
symbol there will be a sense of security and warmness with the colors that we
chose. The safe will be on most of the pages, one way or another and that is to
assure the user that they will be protected and that they will never lose their
text history again. We also wanted to make the person using the app feel like
the design is always conversing with them.
Last but not least
we wanted to design our application to be uniform throughout the experience. We
wanted to see this uniform look as you maneuvered through the pages, having the
same colors, same placement, and same function throughout. And if you wanted to
go back, you would be able to do that with a click of a button. We also wanted
to have an option, which you would always know how much space you have because
the application would remind you periodically. That was a huge factor for our
application.
