Uphold Login UX

Why login UX matters

Login is the gateway to value and risk. Bad sign-in UX leads to abandonment; weak authentication creates breach risk. We need fast flows that also resist attackers.

Principles

• Progressive trust: escalate only when risk appears.
• Phishing resistance by default — adopt platform cryptography (passkeys/WebAuthn).
• Clear affordances and smart defaults (enable protections).

Core patterns (fast + secure)

• Passwordless primary: promote passkeys/WebAuthn for speed and phishing resistance.
• Adaptive MFA: require extra factors only when signals show risk.
• One-tap recovery enrollment: enroll recovery options right after signup.

UX details that prevent mistakes

• Plain language over jargon; show domain fingerprint.
• Inline, actionable error messages (not modal blame).
• Offer secure autofill and discourage copy/paste of secrets.

Teach smart habits

• Micro-tutorial for passkeys on first login.
• Encourage password manager use with an offer to autofill securely.
• One-tap enable for MFA (push/TOTP) with a short explanation.

Engineering checklist

• Follow NIST/OWASP guidance when designing risk/recovery policies.
• Implement WebAuthn; provide secure fallbacks and rate limits.
• Harden recovery flows—the most targeted attacker vector.

Accessibility & privacy

• Screen-reader friendly, keyboard accessible sign-in UI.
• Transparent data collection; minimized telemetry for risk detection.
• Easy device revocation and clear sync controls for passkeys.

Metrics & roadmap

Measure completion time, passkey/MFA enrollment rate, recovery events, and fraud rate. Roll out in phases: baseline → adaptive MFA → passkeys → passwordless-first.

References