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UX Recommendations

The following recommendations are based on extensive experience working with a wide range of clients and analyzing real-world user behavior across different industries and geographies. They are also informed by best practices in UX research and interface design for identity verification flows.

The goal is simple: to help you maximize your conversion funnel and deliver a smooth, accessible, and trustworthy experience for your users.

By applying these principles, you can reduce drop-offs, minimize user confusion, and increase the success rate of each step—whether it's granting camera permissions, taking a selfie, or completing an active liveness check. While not all recommendations are mandatory, they reflect patterns that have consistently improved performance and satisfaction across numerous deployments. We encourage you to use them as a foundation for informed design decisions.

General guidelines for the selfie step

  • Preserve the visual contrast and color semantics
    Avoid using non-semantic colors (e.g., red or orange) for feedback elements like borders, overlays, or detection markers, as they may mislead the user. Green should be preserved for success messages or visual indicators.
  • Use clear and concise central messages Instructions like "Move closer", "Move farther", or "Turn your head to the left" should be short, direct, and action-oriented. Long or vague instructions reduce clarity and slow user response.
  • Enable review only if needed By default, it is recommended to keep the photo review disabled. This prevents users from getting stuck trying to “look good” or from abandoning the process if dissatisfied with their image. Enable review only if your context requires manual verification of image quality and users are likely to submit poor captures.
  • Make feedback messages meaningful Customize loading and validation texts to reflect progress (e.g., "Validating selfie", "Finalizing capture") rather than just "Loading". This reinforces user confidence and prevents frustration during transitions.

Tutorials and pre-capture screens

  • Keep tutorials enabled Tutorials help prepare users for the next action. This is especially important for SAP (active liveness), where users must understand the required movement. Disabling tutorials significantly increases failure rates.
  • Use descriptive, not decorative images Visuals should aid comprehension, not serve as branding or filler. For example, a graphic that shows head rotation is far more effective than an abstract or branded image.
  • Pre-warn about camera permissions Consider adding a message before starting the process to inform users that they will be prompted to grant camera access. This avoids confusion and reduces drop-off at the OS permission prompt.
  • Keep texts short and left-aligned Users tend to scan rather than read. Maintain brevity, avoid long blocks of text, and prioritize clarity. Left-aligned text enhances legibility and avoids unnecessary eye movement.
  • Avoid excessive use of bold or italics While emphasis can help, too much use of styling elements harms readability and accessibility—especially for users with cognitive or visual impairments.

Process navigation and feedback

  • Keep the close button visible Always allow users to exit the flow. Removing the close or cancel option can increase abandonment and negatively impact perceived control.
  • Design robust error and loading messages
    Don't rely on generic phrases like "An error occurred". Be specific when possible ("Face not detected", "Lighting too low") and keep the tone neutral and helpful.
    Similarly, replace vague loading texts with step-specific feedback:

    • "Analyzing document..."
    • "Checking liveness..."
    • "Finalizing verification..."

Texts accesibility

  • Alt text allows people with visual impairments to understand the content of images using screen readers. Our SDKs support this functionality, and alt text can be modified in the settings.
  • However, two of the elements share one peculiarity: the spinner's alt text and the loading title tend to be very similar. That's why we recommend leaving the alt text blank if you decide to include a title, and vice versa, to prevent screen readers from reading two similar texts.
  • Please check this on the loading screen (loading.altText and loading.title) and on the camera loading screen in the capture (capture.cameraLoading.altText and capture.cameraLoading.title).