Users were hesitant to upload phone contacts to facebook | underperforming high-visibility feature

CONTEXT

On the Address Book team at Meta (part of the Signals team), I partnered with the People You May Know team for a content experiment.

GOAL

Increase contact uploads to improve friend suggestions, drive MAU.
Initial projections estimated ~35K MAU from contact uploads.

This surfaced as a carousel tile seen by tens of millions of users.

Role

• Wrote five initial variants for A/B testing
• Rewrote the final shipped version under strict UI constraints
• Aligned content with product intent and user understanding
• Partnered with engineering to ensure precise implementation

APPROACH

Previous content versions were centered around continuous contact uploading and didn’t explain the benefits of this action in plain words.

There was also always an intermediate set of progressive disclosure that explained how contacts were uploaded and how to remove permission to do so later, if they chose to upload. That content didn’t change.

This wasn’t just about shortening copy. It was about removing hesitation and building trust.

Users were being asked to take a multi-step action, but the previous content versions didn’t fully explain the flow:

• Upload contacts from their device
• See which of the people from their address book are on Facebook
• Choose who to add as a friend

That gap created uncertainty and drop-off.

The final version:

• Made the value exchange immediately clear
• Clarified what would happen after upload
• Focused on relevance in a low-attention surface

Users are more willing to share when the path is clear and the explanation feels trustworthy. Every word had a job.

Constraint

Midway through testing, the content no longer fit the UI. My engineer called me and I wrote the final version ad-hoc.

It had to work within:

• A short headline
• Two lines of body text max
• A CTA aligned with the headline

No extra space.

Impact

• Projected: ~35K MAU
• Result:
  ~180K MAU on Friends Home
  ~90K MAU on People You May Know

A small, constrained content change drove a significant increase in engagement at scale. This version was chosen as the default content.

takeaway

When systems are complex and space is limited, clarity drives action.

Users don’t hesitate because they lack intent – they hesitate when the path is unclear or feels untrustworthy.

Clear, precise messaging can create trust, reduce uncertainty and encourage engagement, turning content into a growth lever.