After a user starts a new streak, we used to show them this screen to pick a “Streak Goal” The kicker is we never stored this information anywhere, nor did we do anything with it! It was a one-time fleeting interaction.

But we knew how important setting and completing goals is to build new habits so we weren’t (totally) surprised when Streak Goals turned out to be a HUGE retention win. Weeks after users saw this screen, they were still retaining better than those that did not.

A few years later, we decided to dial it up a notch, which is where it gets crazier. Instead of showing this screen when you start a new streak, we removed the preselected option and forced every user to select a goal. We added a lot of friction!

The streak goal is not something we reference anywhere on the app, nor do we track it. Beyond a user committing to one, we don't do anything with it. Users who select 3 days get the same experience that those who select 7, 14 or 30

And the results from adding a whole ton of friction below our minds! - Users selected higher goals than before - Users did not drop off despite the extra friction - Users retained way better FOR WEEKS after seeing this screen.

This experiment lead to a big insight for the Retention team: The power of good friction! Good friction is friction we add to the experience that increases users’ motivation by getting them to actively assess their end goal. Once they do, it stays with them for a LONG LONG TIME

Also: WE’RE HIRING!!!! Slide into my DMs

@abouelatta_ali Why call it friction? In physics, friction counters motion. Besides, this concept already has a name. It is precommitment. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...

@andrewpapale1 Noted

@abouelatta_ali How about this for a streak 😇 Streaks make me super motivated.

@satyamnish 😍😍😍😍😍😍

@abouelatta_ali 315 day streak in Bahasa so far, it definitely worked for me 😂

@AliceMerron 😍😍😍😍😍😍

@abouelatta_ali Thanks for sharing, A/B results are always so interesting! Does Duolingo have it's own internal experimentation platform, or do you guys use a third-party service?

@abouelatta_ali @edelwax good example of friction that adds meaningfulness to a ux

@abouelatta_ali @CasualEffects You guys are evil.

@abouelatta_ali @SwanBitcoin could try this out for #bitcoin DCA programs :)

@abouelatta_ali Gamification can be super powerful! Well done Ali 👌

@abouelatta_ali I tried to pay for a subscription and failed miserably. Maybe you should look into that too.

@abouelatta_ali I am still on Duolingo because I don’t want to give up. My 200plus day streak reminds me how far I have come. Thank you @duolingo for the streak. It works like magic.

@abouelatta_ali Love these kinds of little breakthroughs!

@abouelatta_ali @mushon he said good friction

@abouelatta_ali @Steven_Oddy

@abouelatta_ali Cool example, thanks for sharing

@abouelatta_ali This is fascinating!

@abouelatta_ali s/o @kahlilnewton for sharing this was a great read 👏

@abouelatta_ali Would be cool to tie it to pricing, some sort of discount/rebate for hitting the goal

@abouelatta_ali Fine I'll come back to Duolingo. I stopped when I lost my streak of 316 days 💀

@abouelatta_ali @ahaseeb04 Somewhat related question: How does the retention team handle UI Changes? The most recent on on IOS really deflated me from using the app. Changing the entire layout of lessons absolutely crushed my motivation. Super curious how this is handled.

@abouelatta_ali 🤣🫢

@abouelatta_ali @readwise save thread

@abouelatta_ali @readwise save thread

@abouelatta_ali I just stopped using the app after a 117 day streak. The new UI is so bad I can’t use the app anymore.

@abouelatta_ali @getupnext save

@abouelatta_ali @MrMarioLopes @itsunclejon "good friction" for KH onboarding and @heatcheckapp Interesting insights