Building trustworthy apps

RAVI SHARMA

IT consulting | Virtual CxO Service | Programmatic Advertising | Lead Generation with AI | Remote Staffing Specialist | Cyber Security | AI | Cloud | Drive sustainable growth | IIM-C alumni ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Published Jul 5, 2016

The app market is not stable at all. It has been observed that app users quickly change focus and shift quickly to whatever draws their attention. They are on a constant look out for something attractive and different.

This dilemma situation is due to the fact that every day a new app is launched in the market making the old one’s obsolete. The mobile apps owners are on a constant wage for attention of users.

The mobile app users have luxury of choice. In fact such high tech app have been developed that it has led to gigantic challenges for mobile app professionals.

In order to properly understand challenges faced by mobile app start-ups as well as already established organizations you have to first analyze physical nature of a smart phone first. The mobiles are not just convenient but also portable. Also they are quite personal. Mobile apps can have access to personal data such as credit card details, your web browsing history and also the things which you have purchased. Because of the personal nature of a mobile phone, users have become cautious as to what type ofapps they want to download.

Owing to this factor it has become vital to build up trust with the users. Only if the users trust you they will have their first interaction with you. Make your intentions crystal-clear and build trustworthy app.

Given below are five points to make your apps more reliable. Building a profit making app is not easy. These tips will fulfill the financial aspect as well.

Be rational about in-app permissions

In-app permissions lead to impressive user experience. In case your app is untrustworthy the user will run away for good. This is the reason why in-app permissions hold importance in your app marketing strategy.

For example, asking user about his or her location is common thing. But, then a lot of users still do not understand why you need it. Just be clear in your approach as why do you need to know particular information. When app users feel that you are upfront about your requests, they will trust you more. This way you will develop a good rapport with them. They will treat you as their friend and grant you in-app permissions with ease.

Do not go overboard with mobile advertisements

Mobile advertisements interfere with healthy user experience. Your aim of promoting third party brands can actually jeopardize your trust factor with the users. Mobile advertising strategy is no longer an easy thing. Just be diligent about tackling your mobile advertisements startegy.

If you desire to preserve user trust as well as transparency you need to be prudent in choosing in-app ads. For instance, abusive as well as suspicious ads can have made influence on your brand image. Also, do not allow inferior quality ads to pop in your app. Replace them with ads which go well with your image.

Give the users complete control in reference to sharing

Do not go in for pushy social media strategy in order to surge popularity of your app. This creates more doubt than trust..This is usually done when apps are built to post information on social media if user achieves a specific goal, or he or she unlocks level, or conducts any “shareable” in-app actions. What you should keep in mind that user privacy should not be undermined at expense of brand promotion.

Be transparent as what the app wants to put on social media, and also the reason behind the same. In case the user feels that mobile app has posted certain information on social media sites without his knowledge, it can lead to bad reviews as well as ratings. The user might even uninstall the app. So, staying attentive and giving users’ total control over whatever they want to share is very important. This will ensure prolonged relationship with the user

Go for optional registration

If you desire to have user’s email addresses with view to ensure long-term association, then going in for sign-up or create an account will be integral part of your strategy.

Nevertheless it has been that user registrations at time pose a major obstacle. The reason for this is:

Users feel that sign-up forms enable others to have access to their private data
In case sign-up form pops up soon, most users do not like to get involved in a long term relationship
A lot of people do not like to fill sign-up form and reveal any personal information

So the best thing to do is make the sign up thing optional. In case users like to have long term relationship with your brand they will automatically like to sign up.

Deal with respect in combination with logic

Mobile app industry forgets this fact that users need respect rather than just logic. With empathy you can win their trust. The user should be able to relate with an app. He or she should not feel intimidated.

The app should be user friendly and understand the need for privacy. App which sneakily post personal details of the users on social media can never be successful. So do not try to sell personal information of the user.

So, follow these steps and you will be in a win-win situation.