Case study · LogMeIn
LastPass Connect turned an acquired hardware login key into touchless login with the phone already in your pocket. Its public beta drew 4,930 sign-ups from one email, and 52% of users were still active in week 2.
LogMeIn acquired AuthAir, a hardware key that logged healthcare workers into a computer as they walked up and out as they walked away. The challenge was to turn that technology into something LastPass users would want, using a device they already carry, their phone, instead of extra hardware.
We defined a persona through a workshop and interviews, validated a prototype with people matching that persona, and then released LastPass Connect as a public beta. Your phone unlocks your computer when you sit down and locks it when you walk away. We kept the MVP lean and let usage data show what to fix.
Business context: AuthAir made a thumb-drive-sized device for healthcare providers. Staff carried it from computer to computer, and it logged them in by proximity. LogMeIn saw parallels with its password manager, LastPass, and acquired AuthAir in March 2017. The touchless login work became part of LastPass and went to LogMeIn’s Innovation incubator.
Customer problem: Typing passwords to unlock a computer many times a day is slow and annoying. People in shared or open offices also often forget to lock their screens when they walk away. [The top frustrations from your interviews.]
Design problem: The technology worked, but it was built for one niche market and needed a separate piece of hardware. We had to figure out how touchless login could fit into LastPass using a device people already had.
“[Interview quote about unlocking or locking a computer many times a day]”
Problem statement: How might we let people unlock and lock their computer just by being near it, using the phone already in their pocket, without making setup a burden?
I owned: [Confirm what was yours, e.g. running the workshop, the persona and interviews, the desktop and mobile designs, onboarding, and measuring the beta.]
I partnered on: The beta launch email and landing page with the email team; making login and logout reliable with engineering.
We ran a workshop to narrow the problem and agree on the scope of the MVP. We created a persona, “Open Office Oliver”: he works in an open office around other people, uses a computer every day, and protects sensitive work data with passwords. He wants security and convenience but has little mental space to spare.
Interviews with people like Oliver shaped how we adapted the existing technology. We then showed people with the same profile an updated prototype to check we were on the right track.
Key insight: [One interview insight that shaped the design.]
Testing internally with a small group wasn’t giving us honest feedback. To see how people used it in their own workplaces, we worked with the email team on an announcement to current LastPass users and built a simple landing page. Together they offered an early beta of LastPass Connect.
Onboarding was our biggest worry. Users had to switch between computer and phone and go through many steps on both, sometimes jumping between apps (app, then email, then browser, then back to the app). Instead of polishing everything, we put our effort only where it was critical and let real usage tell us what wasn’t working.
We asked for recommendation scores weekly, ran diary studies and follow-up interviews, sent surveys, and watched analytics closely. That included performance: how accurately the app logged people in and out had a direct effect on whether they kept using it.
LastPass Connect uses your phone to log you into your computer when you arrive and lock it when you leave.
The Mac login screen greets you by name, searches for your phone, and offers “Unlock with mobile.” Typing your password is still an option.
A notification asks to confirm the login (“Would you like to log in to Fiona’s MacBook Pro?”), so you approve it in one tap without opening the app.
The mobile app shows which computer your phone is connected to, so you can always see what it’s controlling.
Onboarding takes you through installing on your computer, pairing your phone and turning on location, with clear progress and an explanation of why each permission matters.
The public beta did better than we expected. One email campaign brought in nearly 5,000 sign-ups, and more than half of active users were still using it in week 2.
“[Quote from a diary study or follow-up interview]”