Joel Yong | Designer & Director

case studies

SCOPE

End-to-end privacy feature using Gemini AI to surface personal data being sold about you by data brokers, and give you the tools to reclaim it.

KEY USER

Everyday Google Suite users who don't actively think about their rights to data privacy, and wouldn't know how to start protecting it.

ROLE

Product Designer. Responsible for research, UI/UX, and motion design.

Collaboration with engineering, policy, and product.

Product Designer. Responsible for research, UI/UX, and motion design.

Collaboration with engineering, policy, and product.

FINDING THE FRONT DOOR

Most privacy tools live in the settings, buried and ignored.

I embedded Privacy Trace directly in Gmail's Spam, meeting users at the moment they're already feeling the consequences of exposed data. This made it a far more compelling entry point than other proposed locations, such as Account Settings or a Chrome extension.
Within Gmail's Spam, I opted for a discreet badge UI to mark the beginning of the user's journey with Privacy Trace.

Most privacy tools live in the settings, buried and ignored.

I embedded Privacy Trace directly in Gmail's Spam, meeting users at the moment they're already feeling the consequences of exposed data. This made it a far more compelling entry point than other proposed locations, such as Account Settings or a Chrome extension.
Within Gmail's Spam, I opted for a discreet badge UI to mark the beginning of the user's journey with Privacy Trace.

ORGANIZING THE DATA DISPLAY

I translated user insights from six focus group sessions into a panel UI that seamlessly informed the user of the data at risk and its urgency.
I organized the at-risk data from most-to-least sensitive, balancing progressive disclosure and structured transparency.
User testing showed that users were able to go from awareness to action in < 5 seconds while having record-high rates of comprehension.

ONE-CLICK ACTION

Research found that a user's primary question was "How can I take action?"
I introduced a one-click Deletion Request experience so the user could understand their risk, identify the data brokers, and take action in one fell swoop.
The Identification page mirrored the structure of the data display, allowing for a seamless and intuitive experience.

RESULTS

Newly established UX patterns designed for privacy law compliance.

High-leverage organizational partners brought into the design process, fostering long-term stakeholder relationships.

Cross-functional design sprints, building shared alignment on Gemini's product direction.

REFLECTION

I designed Privacy Trace when Gemini's product vision was still being internally defined. In ambiguity, my prototypes were sources of truth, giving leadership something concrete to understand, accelerating alignment. Privacy Trace was ultimately deferred due to a top-down shift in product priorities, but the UX foundation shaped how the team approached Gemini's role in user-first interfaces going forward.