Share a Sensitive Story Safely
Design a moderated anonymous publishing space where people can discuss difficult experiences without exposing their identity or others' private information.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Anonymous spaces can help people speak honestly, but they can also enable harassment, identifying disclosures, dangerous advice, and content that readers are not prepared to encounter.
User context
Alex wants to write about a painful workplace experience and ask how others moved forward. They want privacy, but their draft includes details that could identify a colleague.
Product problem
The product must preserve the value of anonymity while setting boundaries, protecting third parties, and responding responsibly to credible safety risks.
Objective
Create a safe composition, publication, and discussion flow for a sensitive anonymous story.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Anonymous identity and privacy explanation
- Composer with sensitive-detail and content guidance
- Reader controls for content warnings and replies
- Transparent moderation and appeal states
Screens and states
- Privacy setup
- Story composer
- Pre-publish safety review
- Published discussion
- Moderation notice
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Alex reviews what anonymity does and does not protect
- 02
They write a story and add a content warning
- 03
The system flags potentially identifying details for review
- 04
Alex edits the draft and publishes it to an appropriate topic
- 05
A moderator limits a harmful reply and explains the action
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Explain data retention and identity limits in plain language
- Help authors remove personal details without changing their meaning
- Let readers hide topics or content warning categories
- Provide reporting for harassment, threats, and identifying information
- Show what moderators changed and how to appeal
- Present crisis resources when context warrants them without pretending to provide emergency care
Constraints
- Absolute anonymity cannot be guaranteed
- Moderators may need access to limited technical records for abuse investigations
- The community spans regions with different support resources
- Safety interventions must not expose the author publicly
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- Design five screens that show privacy education, assisted composition, reader controls, and a moderation decision.
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.