Creating clarity in a complex security account
Intego Account Redesign @ Intego, 2024
Company
Intego
Role
Product Designer
Team
5 Designers · Developers · Stakeholders
01 — Background
Intego is a Mac cybersecurity product focused on protecting Mac users, offering antivirus, firewall, and privacy tools. Its account area allows users to manage their subscription, billing, and protected devices.
This case study focuses on redesigning the account experience to improve clarity and confidence. The goal was to help users quickly understand their protection and subscription status, and make key actions easier to find and complete.
02 — The Problem
We saw the design issues — but not the user problem
From reviewing the existing account, it was clear that the experience needed redesign. Everything on the page carried equal visual weight, making it hard to understand what matters most. Key actions were hidden inside dense layouts, and there was no clear starting point. Users had to scan across multiple sections just to get a basic sense of where they stood.
But while these issues were visible in the interface, they didn’t explain what users actually need. To move forward, I needed to better understand user needs, which led me to dive deeper into existing user research.
Intego old account - Users had to scan across multiple sections just to understand where they stood.
03 — Research
If everything is there — why isn’t it clear?
To understand user needs, I relied on existing user research — personas built from customer interviews and validated with over 800 users — alongside a review of competitor account experiences.
User Research
We had three personas. But the real insight wasn’t who they are, it was who most of them are.
69–75% - Relaxed Ronald
״I just want to know everything's working"
Needs clear confirmation that protection is active.Looks for simple, reassuring security status.
1–5% - Determined Dennis
״I want to know what’s happening behind the scenes״
Wants detailed visibility into security activity.Looks for more control and advanced options.
20–30% - Supported Sarah
“I’m not sure if I’m protected”
Needs visible proof that protection is active.Feels more confident with clear reassurance.
We assumed users came to the account to manage their subscription. The research suggested otherwise — most of them came looking for reassurance, not settings. Nearly 75% of users are Ronald.
Competitive Analysis
I looked at how competing products structure the account experience — focusing on what users see first.
Competitive Analysis
I reviewed three leading security products to understand how they communicate protection and structure the account experience.
What stood out
Competitors communicate reassurance using visible protection indicators, connected devices, and account status.
04 — Insights
Insight 1
The account’s primary role is reassurance.
Most users came to verify their protection.
Insight 2
Protection should be obvious at first glance
Users shouldn’t have to search for reassurance.
Insight 3
Show reassurance visually
Use status, devices, and recent activity as visible proof.
05 — design approach
Designing the account around clarity, not structure
- Move protection to the top (Insight 1)
The first thing users see is a clear protection status.
- Make protection instantly recognizable. (Insight 2)
The protection state is presented as the most prominent element on the page, making it immediately clear that the device is protected.
- Reinforce protection with multiple visual indicators (Insight 3)
Since protection takes priority over account management, multiple protection signals are surfaced before subscription and management information.
06 — Challenges
Designing between trust and business
Designing the account meant balancing user needs with business constraints. Not every decision was purely UX driven. Some required working within existing limitations, while still improving clarity and trust.
Upsell without breaking trust
What I tried: Increasing upgrade visibility was a key business requirement, with a request to place it at the top of the account. In the first iteration, I followed this direction and made the upgrade highly visible on entry.
Why it didn’t work: This approach conflicted with the main user need.
Users come to the account to quickly confirm they are protected not to engage with a purchase decision. Placing the upgrade first shifted the focus away from reassurance and reduced trust.
How I solved it: I kept upgrade visibility as a requirement, but changed how it appears in the experience.
Instead of placing it at the top, I surfaced upgrades within the plan itself showing what’s included and what’s missing, with clear “Upgrade” actions where relevant. This way, users can understand their plan first, and only then decide if they want to upgrade without interrupting the flow.
Cancellation vs control
What I tried: In a previous version, users could cancel directly from the account. In the updated flow, cancellation required submitting a support request instead.
Why it didn’t work: This conflicted with user expectations.
Users expect to control their subscription directly, especially for actions like cancellation. Moving cancellation to a support-based flow is a common retention strategy, but it also introduces friction and can reduce trust when users feel they can’t easily control their account.
How I solved it: I understood the reasoning behind moving cancellation to support. It allows the team to understand why users leave and respond in the moment. At the same time, this creates friction for users, especially for a basic action like cancellation. Given this, I focused on improving what I could control. I made the path to cancellation clearer and easier to access within the account, so users don’t have to search for it or guess where to go. This way, even within the existing flow, users have more visibility and a stronger sense of control.
07 — the design
A security account that actually feels secure
The previous experience showed information, but didn’t create confidence.
The redesign focuses on making protection immediately visible, so users don’t have to search or interpret their status. From there, actions, devices, and upgrades are structured around that clarity.
Overview Page
In this overview, I focused on making protection status immediately clear and actionable. The research showed users had to scan the page to understand if they were safe, with no clear starting point. So I surfaced a clear status, broke it down per device to expose gaps and made plan coverage visible. I also integrated upgrades into the flow supporting both user understanding and business goals.
Devices & Users
In this screen, I focused on making device status clear and actionable. The research showed users struggled to understand their protection status at a glance, so I made status visible per device, surfaced inactivity and gaps, and enabled immediate actions. I also supported installation directly in the flow, reducing friction between purchase and protection.
Your Plan
This page focuses on one thing: managing your plan. Users can see their current subscription, act on renewal, and explore upgrade options — all without leaving the page. The upgrade banner lives here intentionally, where users are already thinking about their plan.
08 — impact
How success would be measured
Since I didn’t have post-launch data, I defined what success should look like based on the problems we found.
🎫 Support tickets
Core actions were spread across different pages, so users often didn’t know where to start.
Here, I’d look at how many support tickets are related to navigation and expect that number to go down once actions are easier to find.
📈 Upgrade conversion
Upgrade options were easy to miss, since they appeared in only one place.
Here, I’d track how often users click “Add to plan” and expect it to go up, because missing features are now visible as part of the experience.
️️♻️ Renewal rate
Auto-renewal was buried inside deeper flows, so most users never noticed it.
Here, I’d measure how many users turn it on and expect that number to increase now that it’s clearly visible.
08 — Personal exploration
Helping users focus on what matters most
While working on Intego, one of the challenges was helping users understand what required their attention. Looking back, I started thinking about how AI could help users prioritize information and focus on the most important actions.
This wasn’t part of the original project, but it’s a direction I would be interested in exploring today.
Instead of expecting users to find issues on their own, the system proactively surfaces the most important actions and helps them address them quickly.
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