What Bathroom Lock Design Can Teach Us About Privacy Settings

A tale of two public restrooms and one insight about designing effective privacy settings.

Bathroom Lock #1: A design that failed to prevent a privacy breach

I was out at one of my favorite local haunts. It was early and the place was barely half full. There was no queue outside of the single-stall bathroom when I headed over.

The door was closed, but I’d been here before, and this didn’t mean that the stall was occupied — people often closed the door when they exited, and I didn’t want to be the goober waiting outside an empty stall. I cautiously twisted the knob to the left. It kept turning. The door was unlocked.

I pushed the door open, only to find someone inside. Let’s just say that this person was not at the sink washing their hands. I had barged in on someone’s private moment in a public bathroom.

“Sorry, sorry!” I managed as I pulled the door tightly closed. Wrapped in shame, I retreated to my group and forgot that I needed to use the bathroom altogether. I felt like a villain and a fool.

I don’t have photos of the bathroom door in question, but here is a detailed rendering of how I felt before and after my blunder.

This happened years ago, but the memory still lingers. The thing is, it never should have happened. This nightmare could have been avoided if:

• I had knocked. (I can’t tell you why I didn’t knock. I learned my lesson. Now, I knock AND work up the nerve to call out, “Anyone there?”).

• The person inside had locked the door. (Maybe they thought they did. Admittedly, it was a tricky lock).

• The bathroom lock had a better design.

The last possibility didn’t occur to me until I read The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman. While I maintain accountability, my privacy faux pas was definitely facilitated by ineffective design.

Bathroom Lock #2: A design that promoted privacy and peace of mind

Fast forward several years. I was working on a project at a new branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. I needed to use the restroom. As I walked past a shelf of New Arrivals and turned a corner, I stumbled upon the gold standard of public restroom design.

To start, there are five, single-stall, gender-neutral, family-friendly bathroom stalls. They are stocked with toilet paper and use energy efficient sinks, hand dryers, and lights. Each stall is wheelchair accessible and offers free sanitary products. But the feature that caught my eye was the lock.

From outside the restroom, I could instantly see if a stall was vacant or occupied. An indicator above the lock showed OCCUPIED over a red background or VACANT over a green background. From inside the stall, I had a similar view. After locking the door, the “open lock” icon on a green background was replaced with a “secured lock” icon over a red background.

I had no doubts that the stall would be empty as I entered, and I had no doubts that I had locked the door behind me once I was inside.

I felt relieved. I felt safe.

From inside the stall, it was easy to see that I had successfully locked the door. This visible validation gave me comfort in a situation that is innately vulnerable.

In addition to boosting my privacy and general sense of safety, this design made it easier for me to unlock the door and exit. I didn’t have to endure the panic-inducing guessing game of determining which way to turn the lock in order to unlatch it.

This lock design is not new, but it seems to be woefully rare. Encountering it feels noteworthy because it removes some stress from a stressful situation. I hope that more public restrooms adopt this design, as it significantly decreases the chances of an awkward breach of personal safety and privacy.

UXD Application: Always make privacy options crystal clear

From entering financial information to adding medical history to divulging personal details not meant for prying eyes, we frequently encounter vulnerable situations when using digital products. The two bathroom lock scenarios underscore how critical it is to design these experiences to be safe and worry-free.

Clear indicators should be consistently visible, so that users know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, who has access to the information they are sharing.

One product that does this especially well is Google Drive. When opening a file, the presence or absence of a person-shaped icon instantly reveals whether the file is shared or private. Inside a file, such as a Google document, the Share button at the top shows a lock icon if the file is private and a people-shaped icon if it is shared.

I use Google Drive for personal and professional projects, so it’s comforting to confirm at a glance that I’m not mistakenly transcribing my grandmother’s secret sugar cookie recipe in a folder that my colleagues have access to.

In Google drive, quick indicators reveal if a file is shared (person icon) or private (lock or absence of the person icon).

Another strong example comes from Zoom. On a conference call, the chat box allows users to message Everyone or an individual. To post a message to everyone, you select Everyone, and begin typing. To chat with an individual, you click on their name which is followed by red text that says: (Privately). The private message option is distinctly marked, which is deeply reassuring. While it’s possible to slip up and share a message with the wrong audience, thus far, the clear labels have prevented me from doing so.

Ultimately, as a designer, it’s important to be vigilant about supporting users’ peace of mind. First and foremost, products must be safe to use. Secondly, the design should help people feel safe while using them.