30:00
TIKTOK
FAMILY PAIRING

Manage Blocked Accounts

Data-Driven
Driving solutions out of ambiguity through research and data
Cross-Functional
Managing a complex large project on time across time-zones
Global Impact
Delivering a truly useful global product solution
James Jones
Lead PM, User Privacy • TikTok

What We'll Cover

How I turned a regulatory mandate into a globally launched, patent-pending product
01
Context
Overview and context
02
Strategy
Research and recommendation
03
Product
Design & demo
04
Execution
Organizing & Launching
05
Impact
Results & Learnings

Overview of product strategy and framework approach

How I turned an ambiguous legal request into a truly useful and patent-pending product solution
Legal Analysis
Interpreted EU regulation to define product requirements
UXR Validation
Validated assumptions with parents and teens
Industry Research
Benchmarked how competitors handle parental controls
Internal Feature Audit
Mapped existing block tools and identified gaps
Organization & Principles
Minimize build,
maximize global impact
Deliver a compliant solution on time
Pre-vetted with Eng
Data-driven with DS
Pre-aligned with GR & PR
Clear product
recommendation
Full-spectrum analysis presented to leadership
How I Built the Recommendation
1
Legal Analysis
2
UXR Validation
3
Industry Research
4
Internal Feature Audit

What does "unknown to the child" mean on an algorithm-driven platform?

Ireland's Online Safety Code Part B, §14.2(a) required parental controls for "unknown" contacts
Legal Ambiguity
The Challenge
  • ✓ TikTok's value is algorithmic discovery
  • ✓ Literal "unknown" interpretation would ban the algorithm
  • ✓ Initial legal analysis suggested a very conservative legal-risk approach
Product Opportunity
My Interpretation
  • ✓ The majority of videos consumed are potentially "unknown"
  • ✓ "Unknown" didn't have a specific legal definition — open to interpretation
  • ✓ Find an approach that balances risk and business continuity
How I Built the Recommendation
1
Legal Analysis
2
UXR Validation
3
Industry Research
4
Internal Feature Audit

UXR Validated Global Parent Demand

Underpinning an appropriate legal response — connecting regulatory needs to clearer user research
37%
of parents said too much inappropriate content was their #1 concern
TikTok Internal Data
What Already Existed
Content Restrictions
View Connection Lists
THE GAP
Manage Connections
How I Built the Recommendation
1
Legal Analysis
2
UXR Validation
3
Industry Research
4
Internal Feature Audit

Industry research inspired approach

Auditing similar approaches in industry to inform the product recommendation
Reactive Model
Roblox Parental Controls
  • ✓ Block users from existing friends list
  • ✓ Block specific experiences by name
  • ✓ Under-13s cannot unblock — must request parent
Source: Roblox Newsroom, Apr 2, 2025
Proactive Model
Inspired Adaptation on TikTok
  • ✓ Block any account — proactively, before contact
  • ✓ Content disappears from feed, user blocked including DMs
  • ✓ Teens can request to unblock — parent decides
How I Built the Recommendation
1
Legal Analysis
2
UXR Validation
3
Industry Research
4
Internal Feature Audit

Internal analysis & product recommendation

External research validated the user research findings — offering parents more control over their teens' connections
HIGH RISK
Do Nothing
Non-compliance, absorb regulatory risk
MED RISK
Mute Accounts
Parent mutes accounts instead of blocking — lighter touch, but less protective
✓ RECOMMENDED
Extend Block Control
Make individual user block control available to become parent-managed
HIGH FRICTION
Restricted Feeds
Parent must curate content allowlists
OVERREACH
Total Parent Control
Parent approves all connections before use
← Less Control · More Control →
● Over-compliant ● Right balance ● Legally risky
Leadership Approved

Parent block control design demo walkthrough

Designing a parent friendly experience that enhances teen safety
Clear, simple control for parents
Intuitive design — meets compliance and user needs without overwhelming parents
Balancing control with autonomy
Teen-initiated unblock requests ensure teens retain agency
48-hour block handover
Blocks remain if teen unlinks — prevents circumvention
Could parents weaponize blocking?
No misuse found post-launch — controls worked as intended

Self-Organized Across 85+ People

I built a workback schedule from the compliance deadline — coordinating across 3 geographies and 6+ business units
85+
People Coordinated
Legal · Engineering · Design · Search · Social · Accounts · Content · Algorithm
3
Geographies
US · Singapore · Beijing
6+
Business Units
Legal · Eng · Design · Search · Social · Content
How I Self-Organized
Workback Schedule
Daily Check-ins
Creative Sprints
Leadership Steering

A/B Analysis: Success Measures

Measures of success and guardrail metrics
Success Metrics / North Stars
% New Settings Open: 2–10%
Core Metrics Neutral (stay duration, lifetime value, advertiser value)
Guardrails Monitored (Neutral or no negative impact)
Blocks Added
Unblock Requests
Sign Up Rate (family pairing)
Unlink Rate (family pairing)

A/B Analysis Results: Teen Unlink +7%

EU launch delivered on time — but teen unlink rate held the global launch
Success Metrics / North Stars
% New Settings Open: 2–10% ✓
Core Metrics Neutral ✓ (stay duration, lifetime value, advertiser value)
Guardrails Monitored
Neutral or no negative impact
Blocks Added ✓
Unblock Requests ✓
Sign Up Rate (family pairing) ✓
TEEN Unlink Rate (family pairing) ✗
EU Launch On Schedule
On Time
Shipped ahead of July 2025 deadline
Global Rollout Paused
+7%
Increased Teen Unlink Rate in A/B Test

Diagnosing the Guardrail Metric

How I diagnosed and resolved the unlink spike — from hypothesis to zero-cost fix that cleared global launch
Key Data Insight
Existing users unlinked at a higher rate than new users — +7% teen unlink spike
How I Diagnosed
1
Data Deep Dive
2
Feature Audit
3
Design & Copy Consultation
4
Solution Ideation & Prioritization

Results

Unlink spike resolved — a genuinely useful solution for families, globally launched with patent-pending design
Global Rollout Paused
+7%
Teen Unlink Rate in A/B Test
Resolved
Global Rollout Successful
Neutral
Neutral effect on teen unlink rate
EU Regulatory Compliance
Resolved Teen Unlinking
Success Metrics Met
Patent-Pending Design
Media Recognition
TIKTOK
FAMILY PAIRING

Manage Blocked Accounts

What Worked Well
Deep product, data & legal analysis
Cross-functional alignment & workback schedule
Learnings
Teen autonomy inflection point reached
Designing for parents must still carefully consider teen reaction
Thank You
James Jones
Next: 10X Product Demo
+ Details
THE IDEA

Build Bear-Market Resilience
With Spending & Savings Insights

One idea: Give existing Robinhood users and new users a compelling reason to open the app every day — even when markets are red and stocks and crypto are down. Spending & savings insights available to any funded account create daily utility that drives deposits, converts users to Gold, and grows the one revenue line that doesn't crash.
~16M
Dormant Accounts
+
27M funded minus ~11M MAU = ~16M dormant. Many are crypto-boom users from 2021 who left during the 2022 winter. MAU dropped 34% during that period, RH laid off 23% of staff. (PYMNTS) These accounts cost $0 to reactivate. RH Q4 2025
Crypto-boom users who left in 2022 winter — $0 CAC to reactivate
–55%
Crypto Crashing Again
+
Current cycle (2024–2026): Crypto revenue surged to $358M (Q4 2024), then crashed: $252M (Q1 2025, –30%), $160M (Q2 2025, –55% from peak). Q4 2025 = $221M (–38% YoY). Oct 2025 saw a $19B liquidation event — the largest in crypto history. HOOD stock down 52% from its Oct 2025 high. Jan 2026 crypto DARTs plunged 44% YoY. This is NOT ancient history — it's happening right now. (DL News · RH Q4 2025)
$358M peak → $160M trough in 6 months. Happening right now (2025–26)
$1.5B
Stable Revenue Line
+
Sweep & interest income: $1.5B (34% of revenue, +37% YoY). This line doesn't crash in bear markets — users earn 3.35% APY on idle cash regardless of crypto/stock prices. Every new Gold subscriber with sweep deposits grows this line. (RH Q4 2025)
Sweep & interest — doesn't crash when crypto does. Insights grow this.
$0 CAC + Built Infrastructure
+
No other crypto platform has this: Gold Sweep (3.35% FDIC-insured, $32.8B deposits), Gold Card (3% cashback), Plaid-ready banking APIs, 27M KYC'd funded accounts. Coinbase has crypto but no savings/spending products. Robinhood can do insight → action in one app. (RH Q4 2025)
Gold Sweep, Gold Card, Plaid APIs, 27M KYC'd accounts. No other crypto platform has savings + spending + trading in one app. Insight → action with zero friction.
CEO Priority: Diversify Beyond Trading
+
Vlad Tenev, Q1 2025 earnings: “We’re diversifying the business outside of the crypto business, which will make us less reliant on crypto transaction volumes.” RH now has 11 business lines each exceeding $100M annualized revenue — but Sweep & Interest ($1.5B) is the largest non-trading line by far. (Fortune · RH Q4 2025)
Tenev: “We’re diversifying…which will make us less reliant on crypto transaction volumes.” Insights directly grow the $1.5B Sweep & Interest line.
Insights → Daily opens → Gold conversion → Sweep deposits → Bear-proof revenue
One flywheel. One product bet. Grows the $1.5B stable line while protecting the $2.6B trading line.
+ Details
The Strategy

Insights Are the Drawbridge

Today there is zero non-trading, non-crypto reason to open Robinhood. Insights change that.
Play 1: Spending Insights (Funded Accounts)
"Your money is leaking"
Basic spending overview for any funded account — the low-barrier hook that gets dormant users to deposit and return daily.
Drives:
Reactivation deposits · Daily opens · Gold upgrade intent
Play 2: Take Action with Gold
"You see the problem — now act on it"
Insights show you the problem. To act — sweep idle cash, earn 3.35% yield, get 3% cashback — you upgrade to Gold.
Gold unlocks:
Gold Sweep 3.35% FDIC-insured · Gold Card 3% back · Auto-sweep rules
Who We're Going After
~16M
+
27M funded (Q4 2025) minus ~11M MAU. RH Q4 2025
Dormant RH
$0 CAC
~6.8M
+
~11M MAU minus 4.2M existing Gold subscribers = ~6.8M active non-Gold users who could be deepened. MAU metric deprecated by RH after Q3 2024. Business of Apps · RH Q4 2025
Active non-Gold
deepen to Gold
~3.4M
+
Mint had 3.6M MAU at shutdown (Jan 2024). Monarch Money — top replacement — captured only ~125K paid subs ($12.6M rev at ~$100/yr — Latka). ~3.4M users remain unserved; price is the barrier ($100/yr). RH offers insights for any funded account + full action tools via Gold. Bloomberg · CNBC
Mint refugees
est. still unserved
80M+
+
US bank savers. ~131M banked US households (FDIC 2023); ~80% use standard savings at 0.01–0.40% APY. Only ~20% use high-yield accounts. Bankrate
US bank savers
earning <1%
+ Details
The Business Case

Retain Crypto Users, Grow
Bear-Proof Revenue

The Problem: $2.6B Depends on Bull Markets
+
FY 2025: $4.47B revenue, 27M funded customers. Revenue mix: Transaction-based $2.6B (58%), Net Interest Income $1.5B (34%), Other/Gold subs $0.4B (8%). (RH Q4 2025 earnings · FY2025 analysis). Bear market vulnerability: Q1 2022 revenue dropped 43% YoY ($522M → $299M); equities revenue fell 73% — trading is cyclical, sweep & interest is resilient. (RH Q1 2022 earnings)
Trading $2.6B — crashed 43% in 2022
Sweep & Interest $1.5B
$
58% of revenue is trading — cyclical, volatile. Sweep & interest ($1.5B) is the stable line. 16M dormant users generating $0. The play: activate them into the green.
The Activation Flywheel
Insights
funded accounts
→
Daily opens
reason to return
→
Gold conversion
act on insights
→
Sweep deposits
grow $1.5B Sweep & Interest
Plus: daily opens → see portfolio → trade more → growing the $2.6B line too
User Activation Scenarios — dormant pool only (by Year 3)
+
Gold today: 4.2M / 27M funded = 15.6% adoption (Q4 2025, grew 58% YoY). Among active users (~11M MAU): ~38%. Scenario rates applied to ~16M dormant pool: Conservative ~6% (well below current adoption). Moderate ~15% (matches current overall rate). Aggressive ~28% (approaching active-user rate). Sweep & Interest per Gold user: $32.8B total sweep / 4.2M Gold = ~$7,800 avg balance × ~1% net spread (difference between partner bank rate ~4.5% and Gold user rate ~3.5%) = ~$107/yr sweep interest + $60/yr subscription ($5/mo) = ~$167/yr non-trading floor. This is a modeled estimate — Robinhood does not disclose per-user sweep spread publicly. Realistic range: ~$140–185/yr depending on assumptions about the spread and average balances. Reactivated users also trade (active ARPU ~$409). Fintech benchmarks: Monzo ~8% paid conversion (Business of Apps). Revolut paid tiers grew 45% in 2025 (eMarketer). RH Q4 2025
Gold today: 4.2M / 27M = 15.6%. Each new Gold user adds ~$167/yr to the Sweep & Interest line (sub + sweep) — before they trade a dollar. Based on ~16M dormant pool only; excludes Mint refugees & general bank population.
Conservative
+1M users
~6% of dormant → Gold
+11% on $1.5B line
Moderate
+2–3M users
~15% of dormant → Gold
+22–33% on $1.5B line
Aggressive
+4–5M users
~28% of dormant → Gold
+45–56% on $1.5B line
ROBINHOOD 10X
–55%
Crypto Revenue Is Crashing
$358M → $160M in 6 months · 58% of revenue depends on bull markets
~16M
$0 CAC + Built Infrastructure
Dormant accounts · Gold Sweep · Gold Card · Plaid APIs — everything exists
+11–56%
Diversify with the $1.5B Line
Grow Sweep & Interest — bear-proof revenue, before a single trade
High-Level Roadmap
01
MVP spending insights using existing Gold Card & linked account data
02
Expand spending visibility to third-party institutions via Plaid
03
AI-powered spending insights & automated rules
Demo and Discussion
James Jones
v3.4
1 / 18
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Sources & Assumptions