Overview
T-Mobile SyncUP Tracker helps customers locate personal belongings through GPS, Wi-Fi, and T-Mobile's cellular network. I worked on the user experience for sharing tracker information with trusted people, including family members and partners. The challenge involved integrating experiences from SyncUP Pets and SyncUP Tracker while preserving user control over personal location information.
PRODUCED
2020-2022
CLIENT
COLLABORATION
Product Management
Engineering
Development
UX Research
Voice of Customer
Design
THE PROBLEM
Allowing someone to share a tracker initially appeared straightforward. Yet the experience introduced important questions about privacy, permissions, and trust. Tracker owners needed to share access with trusted individuals without necessarily exposing sensitive information, such as location history. The experience also needed to support two distinct users: the primary owner managing the tracker and the secondary user receiving shared access. Both required clear, connected interaction flows without compromising the owner's control.
MY ROLE
As a Senior Product Designer, I helped define and design the location-sharing experience across the connected-device ecosystem. I researched customer needs, developed separate user journeys for primary and secondary users, explored interaction flows, and designed iOS interfaces. I collaborated with product managers, engineers, developers, designers, leadership, and Voice of Customer representatives to evaluate requirements, resolve uncertainties, and refine the experience.
PROCESS
I began by examining existing usability findings, customer-service feedback, and qualitative and quantitative research from T-Mobile's tracking products. The research indicated users wanted greater control over the information shared with others, particularly their tracking history. I mapped two separate user journeys: one for the tracker owner and another for the invited user. Although these experiences connected at several points, separating them initially helped clarify different permissions, responsibilities, and interactions. Through discussions with engineering, product management, design, and Voice of Customer stakeholders, I refined the flows as new requirements and technical constraints emerged.
DESIGN
The design focused on making location sharing understandable while preserving the owner's control over personal information. I translated the evolving user flows into iOS screen designs, addressing the relationship between tracker ownership, shared access, and the secondary user's experience. Several technical questions remained unresolved during early design exploration. Rather than waiting for every dependency to be settled, I advanced the interface designs using the available research and stakeholder input, refining the experience as the team gained clarity.
OUTCOME
The project produced researched user flows and interface designs for sharing SyncUP Tracker information with trusted individuals. The work helped define how primary and secondary users would interact with shared tracking information while addressing privacy expectations and technical complexity. The experience reinforced the importance of designing connected products around user control, trust, and clear permissions.
