Can Password Meter be More Effective Towards User Attention, Engagement, and Attachment?: A Study of Metaphor-based Designs

Password meter offers feedback on users’ password strength, with a goal of protecting against security breaches. In this study, we aimed at understanding the potential of leveraging metaphor in password meter design to grab user attention, keep them engaged with the interface, and make them feel connected with the design. To this end, we created four metaphor-based designs (treatment conditions) and compared them with a control condition representing a typical password meter. The findings from our between-subject study with 130 participants, conducted over Amazon Mechanical Turk, provide valuable insights into the opportunities of metaphor-based password meter design. Our study unpacks the role of aesthetic in password meter design, as well as how user engagement contributes to their focus on password strength. We suggest future studies to further explore, refine, and evaluate metaphor-based design choices towards helping users with security decisions.