LIZ BEVAN CONTENT DESIGNER
Designing compliance
tl;dr I overhauled Meta’s third-party developer App Review process by translating user research into a transparent interaction workflow and clear content structure. Maintained strict legal guardrails while centralizing new product terminology to reduce developer friction and system complexity.
App Review submission
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The problem
Developers faced massive friction during App Review due to opaque submission tracking, a lack of final confirmation, and ambiguous legal terms, leading to erosion of developer trust, delayed revenue, and increased compliance risk for Meta.
The solution
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Added progress tracking: Advocated for green checkmarks to show clear completion indicators at every step.
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Clarified the final step: Designed a comprehensive confirmation modal summarizing all key information before submission.
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Prevented submission errors: Locked forms post-submission to prevent edits, and embedded direct links to legal terms and conditions.
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Improved notification loop: Created automated email and push notifications to immediately confirm successful delivery.
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Gathered user feedback: Introduced an optional post-submission survey to continuously track and improve the developer experience.
The impact
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Reduced average time-to-submission by 90% - 36 days to 4 days.
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Reduced Meta's compliance resource requirements.
Data access request forms
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The problem
The App Review allowed usage step was filled with jargon, inconsistent terms and hidden requirements. Upload tools were bunched at the bottom of a long form, which overwhelmed developers.
The solution
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Standardized requirements: Analyzed over 100 permissions to find shared patterns. Wrote reusable text strings to ensure clear and consistent guidance.
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Balanced the tone: Shifted to a conversational yet serious tone to make the stressful process feel more manageable.
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Improved the flow: Moved the upload tool closer to the relevant sections. Designed a modal so developers can complete requirements without leaving the page.
The impact
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Smoother experience for developers; easier to track submission components.
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Less back-and-forth between human reviewers and developers because requirements were met on first submission.
App violations in App Review
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The problem
Our old compliance experience confused developers whose apps broke rules. It lacked context and used inconsistent terms. It also failed to give clear steps to fix issues. This cut off data access and hurt partner revenue.
The solution
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Clear status tracking: Showed the exact status of submissions at both the app and permission levels.
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Empathetic framing: Replaced the harsh word "Rejected" with the more neutral "Not approved."
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Transparent timelines: Explained the exact reason for the violation, the policy broken, and the cutoff date.
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Direct deep-linking: Linked directly to the pre-filled part of the submission that caused the issue.
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Actionable guidance: Provided recommended changes to help developers pass the next review.
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Instant confirmation: Sent a clear receipt notice as soon as developers submitted changes.
The impact
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Clearer developer expectations for data access request rejections.
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Decreased # of communications required for appeal resolution. Metrics were signaling a downward trend in Need More Information (NMI) requests.
