Why do platforms add streak features?š¤
Daria Sokolovskaya
8 replies
The ones that I know are Product Hunt, Duolingo, and Forest. Do you know any others?
The main goal of this feature is to boost user engagement and retention. Users who gained streaks are less likely to abandon the app,Ā leading to a loyal user base. Plus, engaged users provide valuable feedback,Ā helping developers refine and tailor the app. Yet, some people might find it too gamified or even stressful.
What do you think? A good add-on? Will a streak feature work for any app, or just specific ones?
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Isaac Martin Otim@izakotim
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It's called Gamification. It turns an ordinary product platform into a little "game". On PH, now there's a goal for users, a ranked leaderboard, and an unspoken competition about who's got the longest streak.
A lot of platforms use this technique, sadly sometimes with ill intent. An example is a "spin the wheel" mechanic that encourages user spending in games, many have concluded that it is too similar to gambling and have had to face legal repercussions for targetting it at young children.
On the bright side, gamification has proven to be great for user retention and engagement in both adults and children... so we'll be seeing it around for a long time.
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streaks seem to pretty big everywhere these days -- i remember in college people would delete snapchat to focus on school but literally download it once a day to send a snap to a friend just to keep their "streak" alive.
i agree w your main goal (and with what @izakotim said) -- it makes an app "sticky" and makes you want to keep coming back to it. and what's cool is, even if you're only entering the app for that mental dopamine hit of "keeping the streak alive", there's a higher chance you may start engaging w the app's other features too (and thus use it more).
i absolutely think a streak is a good feature BUT you have to make sure it's not TOO easy to continue the streak and also not too hard. ultimately, getting a streak is a reward, so if it's too easy to get the reward (e.g. all you have to do is open the app) then it might lose its "stickiness".
in my personal experience, it's more sticky if, in order to continue the streak, you have to engage with/through the app to a certain extent (and ideally, with another person if it's an interpersonal app like snapchat, bc then both people are invested)!
great question!!
@huisterry Wow! Thank you so much for your comment!
Totally agree with your points, especially about dopamine. The streak feature is certainly connected with processes that are key when it comes to forming a habit.
To my mind, Product Hunt found a nice balance when it comes to maintaining your streak. As you said, not too easy and not too hard.
And thanks for mentioning Snapchat; I didnāt know about this case.
Would work in lots of places including places where it would be frowned on. Eg coke and mcdonalds probably don't want to be seen encouraging consecutive day streaks š
I feel it all began with Snapchat. Their story and streak 'š„' feature added a sense of gamification that rewards a user for their commitment on the platform, which was replicated elsewhere, especially B2C products.
@prakhar_tandon_1 Thanks for your comment. I wonder if Snapchat was the first one that embedded this featureā¦