Release dates:

• Android: September 15, 2026
• iOS: September 17, 2026

Superset: Tracking New Accounts Hourly

Background

This epic covers a standing, always-on prompt that identifies anonymous readers as "account-ready" based on behavior, then makes a dynamic, benefits-led case for creating an account. Unlike prior account-creation prompts tied to specific campaigns (Year in Review early access, Reading Challenge join flow), this is evergreen: it runs continuously as part of the core funnel, not tied to a launch date or season.

Our primary goal will be to convert casual readers (reading multiple times a month) into account-holding active readers (reading multiple times a week). We will deliberately not seek to convert new users into account holders, because too many asks early on in their experience with the app might risk churn.

The team has seen in the past that users rarely read the onboarding messages for features, so this prompt will attempt to illustrate the multiple benefits of having an account.

On both apps, there are currently have pop-ups to ask users to create an account to sync reading lists (shown below), but they do not yet communicating the other values of having an account to users as they become casual users of the app.

Hypothesis

DE 3.3.2 If we show casual app readers readers an account-creation prompt, we’ll see a 20% increase in newly created accounts compared to previous year baseline for a 15-day time window.

User story

• As an anonymous reader who has demonstrated engagement with the app, I want to see a clear, benefits-led case for creating an account, based on what I've actually done, so I understand what I'd gain before being asked to commit.

Requirements

Eligibility & Display

• Only shown to logged-out users who are "account-ready"
• A user qualifies as "account-ready" when they meet the following requirements:
  • Opens the app during first 7 days (App open tracking can be proxied by an impression of either Article view or one of the Main tabs of the app)
  • Opens the app again during a consecutive 2nd 7 days (App open tracking can be proxied by an impression of either Article view or one of the Main tabs of the app)
• The first time a user is identified "account-ready", the prompt is shown starting on their next app open, not on the session where the threshold was crossed
  • Prompt can show within Home, Saved, or Article view when accessed through internal link (suppress on article view when a user is arriving from a Deep link),
  • Show it NOW to all users who already meet the requirements
  • From now on, show it one time to readers as they reach this threshold, indefinitely
• Prompt should be a lower priority than other existing tooltips/prompts. Do not show this prompt at the same time as another prompt or tooltip. 
• Initial prompt should only show once per install: once shown and the user ignored or closed, it does not re-show regardless of continued reading behavior. Do not re-show if a user has cleared their reading history and then becomes eligible again.
• If a user taps "Maybe later" on the prompt, they can see it 1 more time (once the user has an additional 2 app open days). The maximum impressions is 2. If they tap "Maybe later" on their 2nd impression, the prompt is never shown again.

Prompt format

• Full-screen prompt presented on app open (once eligible), containing:
  • Header: Wikipedia is better with an account
  • A carousel of benefit slides with an illustration for each item, user can swipe between items in the carousel
  • A persistent primary CTA ("Create account" or similar) that stays visible below the carousel across all slides
  • Persistent secondary CTA for "Maybe later" that shows the prompt again once the user has an additional 2 reading days in their history
  • Dismissible with X/Done
• Carousels communicate the current value propositions of having an account in a visual and dynamic way so that even users who don't read the text can understand the benefits
  • Slide 1: Year in Review
    • See your reading days come together in Year in Review
    • Shown in illustration: Wireframe of Year in Review (Avoid text to keep it universal across languages)
    • Once a year, your reading days come back as a look at where the year took you, ready to share.
    • X is replaced with number of cumulative unique reading days (reading day = a day that has at least one article in history)
  • Slide 2: Saved
    • Sync your saved articles
    • Shown in illustration: Wireframe of Saved articles on multiple devices (Avoid text to keep it universal across languages)
    • Log in to your Wikipedia account to allow your saved articles to be synced across devices. 
    • X is replaced with current number of saved articles
  • Slide 3: Activity
    • Revisit your recent reads with Activity
    • Shown in illustration: Wireframe of Activity (Avoid text to keep it universal across languages)
    • See your reading time, explored topics, and the reach of your contributions in the Activity tab
    • X is replaced with articles read this month from Activity
  • Slide 4: Editing
    • Get credit for your edits
    • Shown in illustration: Wireframe of contributions screen (Avoid text to keep it universal across languages)
    • Build a track record you can be proud of, with contributions across Wikimedia projects credited to your account.
• Prompt must be accessible with VoiceOver and Talkback, and dynamic type/increased font sizes
• After user logs in or creates an account through the prompt, land them back where they were when they started
• After users log-in, ensure syncing reading lists is on by default [Should be existing behavior]

Remove legacy prompts

• Remove existing log-in prompt for reading list syncing 

Dynamic numbers within headings [de-scopable if urgently needed]

• Make the prompt more personalized, by using real user data when available within the headings
• X's are replaced with the user's real data at the moment they see the prompt, if the user has any. If the user does not have data, the number is simply not shown. This works in English, but may require separate translation strings for other languages.
  • Slide 1: Year in Review
    • See your [X] reading days come together in Year in Review
    • X is replaced with number of cumulative unique reading days (reading day = a day that has at least one article in history)
  • Slide 2: Saved
    • Sync your [X] saved articles
    • X is replaced with current number of saved articles
  • Slide 3: Activity
    • Revisit your [X] recent reads with Activity
    • X is replaced with articles read this month from Activity

Target audiences

• Logged out casual users of the App
• For translations and testing: German, Japanese, Arabic

How we'll measure success

Key Results

• KR 1.1: Increase in overall new accounts: 20% increase in newly created reader accounts compared to baseline in previous year
• KR 1.2: Prompt conversion: At least 1% of logged-out users who see the prompt successfully create an account [Baseline: 1.2% of android impressions of reading challenge announcement created an account]

Guardrails

• GR: 2.1: At least 40% account creation success rate

Considerations

• What share of account creations were blocked due to reasons outside of their control? (for example, IP block, email address not confirmed)
• What share of new installs saw the prompt within their first 30 days of having the app? What share of new accounts created during the experiment period were new installs from app marketing?
• What share of all new accounts came through the prompt for the variant?

Designs

Designs: https://www.figma.com/design/kYz51yKoqFpBbU5LSNR8mq/YIR-2026?node-id=1353-23419&t=RtvDIrOv1Uwhp0Gi-4