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Lock Screen Experience
The Taboola News content Recommendation Experience
The Taboola News lock screen experience is designed to provide users with fresh and engaging content every time they wake their phone. Each screen activation presents new content recommendations accompanied by visually appealing images that reflect the article or topic.
In addition to these recommendations, the lock screen features a rotating selection of interactive widgets — including weather updates, sports scores, breaking news, trending videos, astrology insights, and more — tailored to the user’s interests and context.
Our core objective is to create a seamless and compelling experience that encourages users to tap and engage with the content directly from the lock screen, turning passive moments into meaningful interactions.
Increase user retention (DAU and MAU) by 10% through higher lock‑screen engagement.
We currently lack a loyal user base, with only about 5% of our users returning to our platform six times within a two-week period. Typically, these users return for just one or two items. Our efforts so far have been sporadic, focusing on improving the experience of the items themselves under the assumption that users’ intent to read an article or watch a video would be enough to increase engagement.
However, these initiatives haven’t significantly increased the number of sessions per user. User interviews have confirmed our hypothesis: users do not perceive us as a primary destination but rather as something that only occasionally captures their attention.
Only 5% of our users return
to our platform
six times within
a two-week period
To address this, we plan to create a dedicated content hub that offers users a clear, consistent experience beyond a single item.
By setting expectations and delivering more value, we aim to boost engagement, session frequency, and overall user retention.
The objective of this study was to understand the core value users get from the lock screen and whether their behavior aligns with it.
We interviewed users worldwide to learn how they perceive the product and its role in their daily lives.
Retired Engineer
Age
Species
Family status
Education
Residence
53
Male
Married + 7
Electrical Engineering
Germany
“I just use the lock screen to see the time or notifications. I don’t really explore beyond that — I didn’t even know it could change images or show different content.”
Matthias is a retired electrical engineer who uses his smartphone mostly for basic functions like checking the time, reading the news, and messaging with his family. He’s curious and open to new features but rarely explores them unless prompted. He was unfamiliar with the changing lock screen wallpapers and seemed surprised by the idea that content could change daily. This highlights a gap in awareness and onboarding for older or less tech-savvy users.
Across the industry, we’re seeing a clear shift toward contextual, content-rich, and personalized lock screen environments.
Leading players are transforming the lock screen from a passive glance into an active, curated hub — offering weather, routines, entertainment, and personalized updates right when the user picks up their phone.
The examples below reflect this emerging standard: engaging, consistent, and tailored experiences that invite users to return daily.
We examined products facing parallel scenarios, assessing their primary functional actions.
Through user reviews, I identified weaknesses in their existing interfaces, while also recognizing advantages that could enhance the value of my work.
Taboola News needs a clearer structure and stronger sense of purpose to encourage repeat use.
Define a consistent content hub that users can return to
→ Create a clear, central space that feels familiar and encourages daily visits.
Help users understand what to expect next
→ Establish predictable patterns or themes so users feel guided, not surprised.
Increase visibility and control over content experience
→ Let users easily discover features and customize their feed.
Various ideas were explored to identify
a high-impact solution within Taboola’s content and effort limitations.
After internal testing and user research, we chose to align the lock screen experience with times of day —
a direction that brings clear value to users:
To design a more personalized and relevant lock screen experience, we created two contrasting user personas with very different interests and routines.
This helped us visualize how the same product could adapt — in content, timing, and tone —
to fit each user’s lifestyle and preferences.
Ido hadass
Ido starts his morning with a personalized lock screen experience. The screen shows relevant tech updates and a short insight for the day. After reading the articles, Ido returns to his customized lock screen wallpaper (a personal photo he loves with his dog), keeping the experience both personal and functional.
Around noon, Ido receives timely updates on his lock screen – suggesting he check the stock market, catch up on quick news, or see the local weather before heading out.
In the evening, Ido’s lock screen adjusts once more to fit his routine – now highlighting the latest sports and football scores, perfect for winding down after a busy day. He quickly checks the match results and maybe reads a short recap, before returning to his own personal wallpaper with the photo of his dog – keeping the experience both useful and personal.
In the morning, Hadass starts her day with a lock screen tailored to her interests – showing her daily horoscope and relevant updates. The experience uses AI to adapt content in real time, making it feel dynamic and fresh. After checking her horoscope, she returns to her personal wallpaper with her child’s photo, keeping the experience both meaningful and personal.
Around noon, Hadass’s lock screen adapts to her lifestyle – suggesting a short yoga stretch and showing the weather update. By aligning with both her interests and the time of day, the experience encourages a mindful break and feels personally relevant. After checking the update, she returns to her personal wallpaper with her child’s photo.
In the evening, Hadass taps the AI chat button and instantly gets a movie recommendation tailored to her mood and interests. This AI-powered feature makes her evening experience seamless and personal, before returning to her own wallpaper with her child’s photo.
After the Hub proof of concept (POC), user behavior showed clear improvement over other tests.
The hub approach drove deeper sessions, more visits,
and higher activity, proving that a centralized lock screen hub can boost retention and engagement.to fit each user’s lifestyle and preferences.
Based on these results, we plan to expand the hub experience to more users and continue iterating with AI-powered personalization and new interactive features.
