Project

Testimonials

About

Resume

Project

Testimonials

About

Resume

Rescue

Rescue

Rescue is a usage-based enhancement to Instagram’s Time Management and Meta Parental Control tools.
It helps users, especially younger audiences reduce unintentional scrolling and build healthier digital habits.

By combining personalized insights, goal-setting tools, and data driven recommendations, Rescue boosts awareness, promotes mindful usage, and supports mental well-being.
Think of it as a stitch in time, a small nudge that prevents long-term overuse and social media dependency.

A usage based solution to help educate users and reduce unintentional social media adherence on the social media platform.
Not just a digital well-being feature within Instagram, Rescue empowers users  with personalized insights, goal-setting tools, and AI-driven recommendations meanwhile educating and eradicating unintentional social media adherence which leads to social media addictions among youngsters.
Stitch in time saves nine!
Rescue is designed to foster a healthier relationship with social media, promoting mindful usage and prioritizing mental health.

Tools

Tools

Tools

Workflow

UX Research
UI Design 
End to end pipeline
Usability Testing

Project vision

I studied what Instagram users were currently feeling about excessive social media usage and unintentional social media adherence. The goal of this project was to create a solution to an existing system of social media usage to create awareness and control on unintentional social media adherence.
Devised a system and introduced an additional feature to the existing platform, aiming to mitigate Unintentional Social Media Non-Adherence and addiction by educating users and empowering them to comprehend and cease these behaviors.

Discover

The Problem


Social media itself isn’t the problem, letting it control us is.

Existing tools for limiting social media usage can be easily bypassed, leading to unintentional overuse and, over time, potential addiction.
This impacts productivity, disrupts professional responsibilities, and can even strain personal life balance.


Why this

matters


Why this matters


The challenge isn’t about removing social media from people’s lives it’s about helping them use it intentionally.
When limits fail, users lose awareness of how much time they’re spending, creating patterns of overuse that are hard to break.

85%

85%

85%

of surveyed social media users admit over using social media by bypassing current time limit features.

45%

45%

45%

of surveyed social media users are not aware or still haven't used the current features set in place.

Whose Problem

Am I Solving?



Why this matters


Rescue targets active social media users, with Instagram alone hosting 2.35 billion daily active users.
The largest demographic ages 21 to 34 includes millennials and young adults who are particularly vulnerable to overuse.

For this group, unintentional scrolling can undermine productivity, impact career growth, and affect long-term personal and professional prospects.

Define

I began by examining Meta and Instagram’s current efforts to reduce excessive social media use, especially among younger users.

Existing Initiatives:

Promoting Mindful Usage


  • Take a Break reminders

  • Your Time Well Spent dashboar

  • Quiet Mode / Focus Mode


Time Management Tools

  • Daily time limits

  • App limits and downtime settings

  • Third-party app integrations


Mental Well-being Support

  • Well-being Resource Center

  • Emotional well-being tools

  • Mental health support resources

While these tools aim to promote balance, recent studies, lawsuits, and user feedback reveal they are not enough.
I conducted interviews with students, IT professionals, influencers, and job seekers all active Instagram users.

Key findings:

  • Many are unaware of existing time management tools.

  • Even when limits are set, they are easy to bypass.

  • Reels and infinite scrolling create habit forming dopamine loops.

  • With most users aged 18–35, there’s little external support or monitoring, making self-regulation harder.

Defining the Core Issue - Unintentional Social Media Adherence

This refers to the involuntary failure to stick to self imposedKey findings: or recommended social media limits.
Example: A user sets a daily limit of 30 minutes but unintentionally exceeds it due to distraction, habit, or instant gratification triggers.

Defining the Core Issue - Unintentional Social Media Adherence

This refers to the involuntary failure to stick to self imposedKey findings: or recommended social media limits.
Example: A user sets a daily limit of 30 minutes but unintentionally exceeds it due to distraction, habit, or instant gratification triggers.

Defining the Core Issue - Unintentional Social Media Adherence

This refers to the involuntary failure to stick to self imposedKey findings: or recommended social media limits.
Example: A user sets a daily limit of 30 minutes but unintentionally exceeds it due to distraction, habit, or instant gratification triggers.

Contributing Factors:

  • Dopamine driven behaviors (e.g., reels, swiping)

  • Poor visibility of available tools

  • Lack of accountability or external guidance

Over time, unintentional adherence can escalate into addictive patterns that harm productivity, focus, and well-being.

Over time, unintentional adherence can escalate into addictive patterns that harm productivity, focus, and well-being.
Over time, unintentional adherence can escalate into addictive patterns that harm productivity, focus, and well-being.

"If I can mitigate the early stages of unintentional adherence by enhancing tool accessibility and providing powerful resources to educate individuals on the prominent effects, it will empower them to become more aware of potential causes leading to habit formation. Subsequently, this can facilitate a shift towards healthy social media usage and a balanced lifestyle."

Problem #1 - Current tools are not efficient in providing digital well being for the focus group and its easy to by pass. 

Problem #2 - effective methods to ease the problems of the focus group 

Problem #3 - Less awareness and focused solution on the issues faced by the focus groups.

Problem statement

"If I can mitigate the early stages of unintentional adherence by enhancing tool accessibility and providing powerful resources to educate individuals on the prominent effects, it will empower them to become more aware of potential causes leading to habit formation. Subsequently, this can facilitate a shift towards healthy social media usage and a balanced lifestyle."

Problem #1 - Current tools are not efficient in providing digital well being for the focus group and its easy to by pass. 

Problem #2 - effective methods to ease the problems of the focus group 

Problem #3 - Less awareness and focused solution on the issues faced by the focus groups.

Problem statement

Tap to flip

"If I can mitigate the early stages of unintentional adherence by enhancing tool accessibility and providing powerful resources to educate individuals on the prominent effects, it will empower them to become more aware of potential causes leading to habit formation. Subsequently, this can facilitate a shift towards healthy social media usage and a balanced lifestyle."

Problem #1 - Current tools are not efficient in providing digital well being for the focus group and its easy to by pass. 

Problem #2 - effective methods to ease the problems of the focus group 

Problem #3 - Less awareness and focused solution on the issues faced by the focus groups.

Problem statement

Tap to flip

Persona

From the user research, I identified two key personas representing different demographics of active Instagram users.

The persona analysis

captured each user’s

  • Demographics and background

  • Experience with social media

  • Employment status and lifestyle

  • Motivations and goals

By mapping their challenges and needs through empathy maps, I was able to highlight the core issues these users face from unintentional overuse to low awareness of time management tools and ensure the design solutions addressed both practical and emotional pain points.

User journey map

I created a generic user journey map to illustrate how a typical user interacts with feature from initial discovery to ongoing usage.

Ideation

To generate effective solutions, I compared Instagram’s current time management approach with prominent de-addiction methods used in other domains (e.g., gaming, digital detox programs, de-addiction programs).
This cross-industry analysis helped identify gaps and opportunities to make time control features more engaging and harder to bypass.
I supported this exploration with:
  • User journey maps — showing how users currently interact with Instagram’s tools versus alternative approaches.
  • Comparison graphs — highlighting where existing methods succeed or fail in sustaining behavior change.
These insights shaped the foundation for a more effective, user-centric solution that could educate, motivate, and sustain healthier digital habits.

Information architecture and user flows

After coming up with prioritized feature requirements and user flow. I conducted another user testing with given information to de clutter and focus on most priority features.

Lo-fi prototypes

Designed the initial prototype of the feature on paper and tested with users on the specific age group for better understanding.

Prototypes and wireframes

These designs were further developed after testing with key users and added community guidelines page, notifications and guide through pages. which is under a non disclosure and some under review.

Retrospective

My involvement in the Rescue project emphasized the critical role of user testing, surveys, and thorough research in the design process.
User Testing and Surveys: These tools were instrumental in understanding user preferences, pain points, and behaviors. By conducting testing sessions and comprehensive surveys, I gained invaluable insights into user expectations, allowing me to refine features and optimize the user experience.
Learning from Current Systems
Research-Driven Iteration: A research-driven approach enabled to iteratively refine the design solutions based on user feedback and market insights. This iterative process ensured the product remained aligned with evolving user expectations.
In conclusion, the Rescue project underscored the transformative power of user-centered design and research-driven iteration, reaffirming the importance of empathy, agility, and continuous learning.

Let’s create your next big idea.

Let's connect

© 2025 All right reserved

Created by Rohith Palottil

Let’s create your next big idea.

Let's connect

© 2025 All right reserved

Created by Rohith Palottil

Let’s create your next big idea.

Let's connect

© 2025 All right reserved

Created by Rohith Palottil