SafeBook
Team
Instructors
Tools
Janny Gao
Daniella Kim, Ph. D
Figma
Ruohan Li
TA: Lubna Razaq
HTML
Timeline
Autumn 2025 (10 weeks)
Lina Wang
Project Overview
Project background
With the advancement of image capturing technology, consent surrounding one’s image has been brought to the forefront. Particularly in private spaces such as public restroom stalls, changing rooms, and travel stays, various privacy violations regarding image capture have been reported. Hidden surveillance in travel stays has become an increasingly common concern, leaving travelers feeling vulnerable. SafeBook was designed as a tool to support travelers—from cautious planners to last-minute bookers—in safeguarding their privacy, encouraging them to feel confident, informed, and safe when choosing where to stay.
Design Question
How might we help young adult travelers feel confident in their privacy throughout the travel process to empower them to act decisively if their privacy is violated?
Our Solution
A browser extension that filters surveillance free verified stays for travelers.
Surveillance -Free tags and filters
Safety Risks & Verification Reports
A corresponding SafeBook mode for mobile booking apps
Our project empowers people to safeguard their privacy from the very first step of choosing where to book. We created SafeBook, a browser extension that filters booking sites to show only verified, surveillance-free properties, complete with privacy inspection reports, incident history, and privacy scores. SafeBook integrates seamlessly into travelers’ existing booking flow, making privacy transparent, accessible, and effortless.
User Research
User Survey
Conducted a literature review on 21 published news reports and academic journals.
Gathered insights about people’s experiences, fears, and overall attitudes towards surveillance privacy violations through 3 Red Note posts.
Ethnographic Research
Secondary Research
Explored users’ experiences with surveillance cameras, locations where they expect privacy, and their knowledge of how to discover surveillance cameras.
User Interview
Conducted 6 user interviews to understand their feelings regarding surveillance and their preferences towards products and services that help them identify hidden surveillance.
Key Findings
01 Surveillance Reality
02 Privacy Expectations
03 User Preferences
Varying privacy laws leave travelers uncertain about their rights, while hidden cameras and accessible spyware make surveillance increasingly common. Being recorded alters behavior and fosters “passive trust in invisibility”, where people assume privacy only when no evidence of monitoring is visible.
Cameras in public hotel spaces (lobbies, hallways) are accepted as legitimate security measures. However, any surveillance in bedrooms and bathrooms is seen as invasive.
Travelers typically book stays based on Convenience, Cleanliness, Crowd-proofing, and Consensus—focusing on location, hygiene, safety cues, and customer reviews. Most rely on trust built through online feedback and visible upkeep rather than actively checking for surveillance devices. While they care about privacy, travelers prefer low-effort, time-efficient solutions that ensure safety without disrupting their travel routines.
The Design Should...
Be Built on User Consent
Consent should be easily understood and can be easily withdrawn.
Be Transparent
Design is transparent, simple, and straightforward about functions: no unnecessary features or steps, no extra knowledge required.
Not Disturb User Flow
Design can be easily integrated into travelers' original travel routines.
Stakeholders
Persona
The Cautious Traveler
The cautious traveler travels frequently, is experienced with travel routines, plans, and bookings, and they take more precautions toward their personal safety and privacy. The cautious traveler invests a significant amount of time researching and planning the details of their trip, paying more attention to brand reputation and carefully sorting through reviews when considering their booking choices. When visiting a new destination, they carefully investigate all the details of their trip and organize an itinerary, ensuring a well-planned trip with no surprises.
The Trusting Optimist
The trusting optimist tends not to sweat the details and waste time on planning, believing that they can figure it out as they go and that the trip will work out in the end. They tend to go with the flow, prioritizing the booking convenience and location proximity to transport over the potential risks of safety and privacy during their stay.
Change & Interation
01 Refined Verification Certification
We repositioned the verification status to the top of the listing so users no longer need to scroll to find it, making the privacy inspection report immediately visible and easier to access.
02 Streamlined Safety
We streamlined the booking confirmation by removing the distracting property image and granular surveillance timestamps, replacing them with a cleaner, consolidated safety status to reduce visual noise and focus the user on the transaction.
03 Integrated Travel Context
We transformed the search experience by integrating a split-view map for geographical context and standardizing safety data into scannable UI cards, empowering users to weigh privacy verification alongside price and location.
04 Verification Score System
We replaced the score system into 3-level verification system, shifting the focus from “grading” a property to transparently communicating of its safety validation.
GREEN: "Verified Safe / No Risk
The property has passed verification or has a strong consensus of safety.
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Verified Inspection: A documented "privacy inspection report" (as per your solution description) was filed within the last 12 months.
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High "Consensus": A high volume of positive reviews explicitly mentioning safety or privacy.
YELLOW: Proceed with Caution / Low Risk
The property may be safe, but the data is too old to be 100% reliable, or there are minor concerns.
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Expired Verification: The property was previously verified, but hasn't been scanned or checked in the past year.
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Ambiguous Data: Reviews are mixed regarding safety features, requiring the user to look closer.
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Minor/Technical Violations: Reports of visible cameras in common areas that were not clearly disclosed, or the presence of smart devices (like Alexa) that cause uncertainty about audio privacy.
RED: "Avoid" / High Risk
A confirmed violation or active threat is present.
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Un-cleared Incident History: A confirmed report of a hidden device (camera/audio) at this property or by this specific host.
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Confirmed reports of hidden cameras in bedrooms or bathrooms. Your research confirms users view this as a severe violation
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Host Non-Compliance: The host has refused a privacy verification request or has a history of dismissing privacy complaints.
GREY: New Listing / No data found
Final Design
User Flow
Information Architecture
Prototypes
01 Web Extension
Our browser extension integrates directly into users’ existing booking workflows across any booking website they prefer. Once users turn on the extension, a badge appears on listings that are verified surveillance-free, and search results are automatically prefiltered to prioritize properties by their safety scores. This approach preserves the usual user experience and trust while introducing an essential layer of protection, ensuring safer booking decisions without disrupting their natural browsing behavior.
Check out our video on how the web extension works!
02 Mobile
Usability testing revealed a significant user preference for booking stays through mobile applications rather than web browsers. To address this insight and extend our solution’s reach, we developed "SafeBook" mode , a mobile app feature that replicates the protective functionality of our browser extension within native booking applications. This prototype, built using Bolt, ensures users receive the same level of safety verification and scam detection regardless of their preferred booking platform, creating a seamless and secure experience across all touchpoints.
Thank you for being part of the journey!
