Private Digital Time Capsule
Design a time capsule for messages and media that opens on a future date for carefully chosen recipients.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
A future message may need to survive device changes, expired accounts, lost contact details, and changed relationships. Irreversible scheduling can also expose private material long after the creator's intent changes.
User context
Evelyn wants to collect short videos from family members for her daughter's eighteenth birthday, six years away. Contributors should control their own clips until the capsule is locked.
Product problem
The service must balance long-term delivery confidence with revocation, recipient verification, storage transparency, and respectful handling if people leave the project.
Objective
Create capsule setup, invited contribution, review and lock, future delivery, and access recovery.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Capsule purpose and recipient setup
- Invited media contribution
- Lock and delivery rules
- Recipient opening and recovery
Screens and states
- Capsule overview
- Contribution workspace
- Lock review
- Delivery settings
- Recipient opening
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Evelyn creates the birthday capsule
- 02
Relatives upload clips and choose visibility
- 03
She reviews delivery contacts and locks the collection
- 04
The recipient verifies identity and opens it on the scheduled date
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Explain what locking changes
- Allow contributor withdrawal before lock
- Use more than one recipient contact method
- Encrypt private content and show storage status
- Provide a documented creator recovery plan
Constraints
- The service cannot guarantee indefinite operation
- Contact details will change
- Large media requires storage limits
- A minor is the future recipient
Reality check
States worth considering
Ready-to-use content
Mock data
Use this content to test hierarchy and realistic data states. You can expand it when the concept needs more depth.
Capsule status
- Opens 17 June 2032
- Recipient: Maya Chen
- Contributors: 8 invited, 6 submitted
- Storage: 1.8 GB of 3 GB
- Lock review due in 12 days
Finish line
What to deliver
- Five responsive screens
- A clear lock, revoke, and recovery policy expressed in the interface
If you want more
Optional extensions
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.