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Restoring Trust in ADT Pulse

Redesigning a home security app so users can arm systems, view cameras, and respond to alerts without delay or doubt.

ROLE

Lead UX designer

IMPACT

Native Mobile App

I led the end-to-end redesign of the ADT Pulse mobile app, partnering with marketing and engineering to translate sustained negative feedback into a faster, more predictable experience through continuous discovery and iterative validation.

 

ADT Pulse was the primary interface customers relied on to arm and disarm their security systems, view cameras, and respond to alerts. Persistent performance issues and unclear system feedback caused users to distrust the app during everyday use and emergency situations.
 

Instead of delivering confidence, the app introduced hesitation and uncertainty at the moments when speed and clarity mattered.

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The Problem

User feedback revealed consistent failures across core tasks:

  • Actions like arming, disarming, and camera access were slow or unreliable

  • System status was unclear, forcing users to guess whether actions worked

  • Alerts and notifications lacked consistency and context

  • There was no in-app guidance when devices failed or went offline

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The app failed during moments of stress, when users needed to arm their system, check cameras, or respond to alerts in real time.

 

The Strategy

The redesign treated speed, clarity, and reliability as experience design problems, not just technical ones.

Every decision was evaluated against a single question: Does this reduce hesitation when a user is trying to secure their home?

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The Solution

The app was rebuilt as a native mobile experience optimized for responsiveness, predictability, and trust.

Key changes included:

  • Introduced a tile-based home screen for one-tap access to critical actions

  • Made system state and confirmations explicit to eliminate ambiguity

  • Simplified navigation to reduce time-to-action across common tasks

  • Embedded help, messages, and troubleshooting directly into the app

 

The experience prioritized immediate feedback and clear outcomes over feature density.

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The Outcome

  • App Store ratings increased from 1.2 stars to 5 stars in under three weeks

  • The redesigned app reached over 1 million downloads

  • User reviews shifted from complaints about failure and slowness to comments about clarity, speed, and control

 

The redesign transformed ADT Pulse from a source of frustration into a dependable extension of the security system.

Homepage

Replaced a cluttered, slow-loading home screen with a tile-based dashboard that surfaces core actions like arm, disarm, sensors and cameras in one tap.

BEFORE

AFTER

Alarm and system states

Designed explicit alarm and system states to remove ambiguity during high-stress moments, giving users clear confirmation and next steps when securing their homes.

Screenshot 2026-01-03 at 7.00.24 PM.png

Navigation and core flows

Reduced friction for critical tasks by introducing persistent navigation and one-touch access to frequently used actions.

Screenshot 2026-01-03 at 7.05.55 PM.png

In-app help and FAQs

Embedded system feedback, messages, and troubleshooting directly into the app so users could understand and resolve issues without leaving the experience.

Customer Feedback

Post-release reviews reflected a clear shift in how customers experienced ADT Pulse. Feedback moved away from complaints about slowness, failed connections, and uncertainty toward comments about speed, reliability, and confidence when managing home security.

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The app was no longer described as something users worked around. It became something they trusted.

Impact & Takeaways

  • Restored trust in a consumer security app by making reliability and system feedback visible and predictable

  • Reduced user hesitation by designing explicitly for stress scenarios, not ideal conditions

  • Demonstrated how experience design can directly influence product perception, adoption, and ratings at scale

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