Your app asks too much, too soon

When someone opens a mobile app for the first time, there's a very fragile moment.

A moment where the user discovers. Observes. Tests. Tries to understand if the app deserves their time.

And yet, plenty of apps destroy that moment immediately. Why ? Because they ask for everything, right away.

The problem isn't the request, it's the timing

Create an account. Confirm an email. Enable notifications. Allow location. Import contacts. Pick preferences. Add a profile picture.

While the user doesn't even know the product yet.

The problem isn't necessarily the request. The problem is the timing. Because at the start, the user doesn't trust you yet. They don't know if the app is useful, if it's stable, if it deserves their data, if it'll really solve their problem.

So every additional step becomes friction. And friction stacks extremely fast on mobile.

The store that hands you a form at the door

Imagine walking into a store… and having to fill out a form before even seeing the products. The experience would be absurd.

Yet that's exactly what many apps still do today.

According to Statista (2024), nearly 80% of users abandon an app at the first forced signup screen.

Trust is built progressively

The best mobile products understand something very important : trust is built progressively.

They first give :

• a demonstration,
• a small win,
• a useful sensation,
• a concrete preview of value.

And only then… they ask for something.

That logic changes a lot. Because a user who already gets the product's value accepts much more easily to create an account, share data, enable a permission, or even pay.

The real question

So the real topic isn't : "How do I collect more user data fast ?" The real topic is : "How do I make people want to continue ?"

And that difference completely transforms the experience.

Is your onboarding blocking the user before their first win ? Book a 15-minute call to rethink the first screen before the next acquisition campaign.