Dropbox's Sharing Notification System
PROBLEM
Sharing is Dropbox's most-used feature, with over 12M shares initiated by 2M active sharers each week. However, the existing notification system worked at odds with the user's job to be done. It created visual noise, confused the flow, and competed for attention at moments when sharing momentum is fragile. This prevented users from completing their share and caused some to churn from Dropbox.
SOLUTION & MY ROLE
To solve this, I designed a unified notification system that brings consistency to sharing-related messaging across mobile, web, and desktop platforms. I categorized every existing notification into three types: Inform & Confirm, Nudge, and Require. Then, I mapped each to a corresponding set of alert levels and patterns. The final design system ranged from lightweight inline messages and toasts to moderate banners and high-impact blockers. To make it extensible, I built it as a framework the Growth and Activation teams could apply to future sharing experiences.
Collaborating with a content designer, we reduced total notifications from 50 to 33 by restructuring error messaging around clear causes and actionable next steps. This work shipped with the sharing modal redesign in May 2026, completing a system that now scales across platforms and teams.
DETAILS
November 2025, 4 weeks
Role: Product Designer
Collaborators: PM, Data Scientist, UX Researcher, Engineers, Content Designer
SERVICES
Product design
Product strategy
User interviews
Content design
Allison Fong
allisonfong24@gmail.com