Mercado Libre - 2FA Hub

2023

Project start date

UX Designer

Role

2023

Project start date

UX Designer

Role

Background

MercadoLibre is a prominent e-commerce platform in Latin America, founded in 1999 in Argentina. It allows users to buy and sell a wide variety of products, similar to eBay or Amazon. MercadoPago, its payment platform, facilitates secure transactions on the site, enhancing user trust and convenience. This comprehensive ecosystem also includes services like Mercado Envíos for logistics and Mercado Crédito for financial solutions, making MercadoLibre central to e-commerce in the region.

Problem

The main issue we were facing was that the two-factor authentication (2FA) settings were disorganized and scattered across various parts of the interface. For instance, the email settings were located in a section called "My Profile," where one could modify their email address. However, this was not part of a specific security section, which meant that users were unaware of the security risks involved in changing their email or the consequences of such changes.

Similarly, the phone number settings were found in a different section altogether.

The process

Research & Benchmarking

We started researching the most popular apps on the market that implement 2FA and noticed that many of them share the same issues we were facing: having key elements scattered across different locations.

Analysis

We began working on the existing screens and workflows within the software, analyzing each element to identify what was working well and what needed improvement. Based on these insights, we developed a new visual framework to enhance the overall experience.

Solution

Our solution was to create a Security Hub where all verification methods used for two-factor authentication (2FA) were centralized. This way, users only needed to visit one place to have complete control over their account's security.

The list of methods included in this hub were:

Password
Facial recognition
Google Authenticator
Email
Phone
QR Code

Each verification method has its own screen where users can modify, activate, or deactivate it as they prefer.

I must mention the many people who participated in this process along with me, such as Afri Aspeleiter and Agustina Haydee.