Redefining Privacy with Port's Access Controls within 24 hours

Summary

Port's access controls empower users to manage individual contact permissions, enhancing privacy and control without sharing numbers. The design team addressed the challenge of balancing visibility and subtlety by integrating a slider below the chat header, providing an intuitive interface for toggling permissions. After research, testing, and user feedback, we refined the designs with a guided experience for first-time users. This feature showcases Port's commitment to user-first design and seamless communication.

Introduction

As a privacy-first messaging app, Port emphasises user control and data protection. One of our standout features, access controls, empowers users to manage individual permissions for their contacts. From deciding who can see your profile picture to controlling group additions, read receipts, and more, this feature ensures unparalleled privacy.

The Challenge

How do we design a feature as robust as access controls, ensuring it’s intuitive, discoverable, and non-intrusive? Balancing visibility without overwhelming the user was the key problem we aimed to solve. We had only 24 hours to come up with a solution and since this feature is unique and not present in any chatting app, we had no references at all.

The Team

Ruthvik (our Chief Design Officer) and I

The Design Process

1. Research:

We analysed popular chat apps to understand existing patterns. It became evident that the chat window was the best location for access controls. Positioned under the chat header, it would strike a balance—visible yet not distracting.

2. Ideation & Wireframing:

Our brainstorming led to multiple design iterations. 

Idea 1 :

However, we realised this idea had a lot of issues :

• All the access permissions were not as evident

• The constant floating button in the chat window could be irritating to the users

• There is an extra step for the user to view the expanded version

This is where we realised that the best place to put these permissions would be the chat header where the profile picture and name are shown. It made sense in both visual and functional contexts.

Idea 2

Issues with this idea were :
Adding more permissions in the future could overwhelm users with excessive horizontal scrolling
Keeping the permissions constantly visible without an option to hide them might frustrate users over time.

With the feedback we’d received and all the back and forth we’d done, we realised that we still had to solve for one major thing :
To ensure that the permissions do not stay open 24*7 right in the user’s face but also get the visibility they need at the same time.

The standout idea? A slider interface with three states:
Fully Closed
Semi - Open (icon-only view)
Fully Open (detailed view with toggles)

This interaction gave users the flexibility to explore the feature at their own pace while also giving them the visibility the needed.

Idea 3

Once we presented the last idea to the stakeholders, it was well received as it addressed all their pain points. Afterwards, we went ahead and finessed the UI.

3. Final UI and Prototyping

For the final UI, we decided to add our accent colours to homogenise it with the design system and made a few tweaks to differentiate the permissions better. We also added arrows to the designs to indicate the direction of opening and closing of the tab.

Different UI states

1. All permissions enabled

2. All permissions disabled

3. Some permissions enabled some disabled

4. User Feedback & Refinement

A/B testing revealed initial user confusion regarding the slider. They did not understand they had to open the slider or why it was even there.

To address this we will be adding :
Auto-open for first time: Users would see the slider fully open when initiating chats with the very first connection for the first time.
Micro-caption: The caption, “Drag down to open access permissions” to subtly guide users to explore the feature.



Why Access Controls Matter

Unlike traditional chat apps, Port’s access controls combine individual chat settings (e.g., notifications, disappearing messages) with unique contact-specific permissions, all without requiring a phone number. This design ensures that users have full control over their communication.
Enjoy a seamless and private experience tailored to their needs.

Final Thoughts

Designing access controls was a collaborative journey of innovation and problem-solving. This feature embodies Port’s mission to revolutionise messaging by giving users the control and privacy they deserve.
Want to try it? Experience access controls on Port today—because your privacy should always be in your hands!