Design a Teen Wellbeing App: Choosing the Health Need, Segment and First Version
Company: Google
Role: Product Manager
Category: Product Design & Strategy
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Other
You are a product manager asked to design a health app built specifically for teenagers. It should reflect what sets teenagers apart from adult users: the health needs particular to their age, the way they prefer to use apps, and what supports their overall wellbeing.
Walk through the goal, the users and the need you would focus on, the solutions you would consider and which you would build first, how you would measure success, and the risks you would have to manage.
```hint Narrow "health" before designing
Health covers sleep, fitness, nutrition, mental wellbeing and sexual health, and each leads to a very different product. Pick one area and one group of teens where the need is least served today, and keep in mind that parents, schools and privacy rules for minors shape what a teen product is allowed to do.
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### Clarifying Questions
- Are we building this at Google, where Android and its existing wellbeing features could be used, or as a standalone app?
- Does the product have to be software only, or could it be or include a physical device, such as a wearable that pairs with the app?
- Which ages count as teenagers, and which country do we launch in, given that privacy rules for minors differ by country?
- Is one area of health already chosen, or is picking the focus part of the task?
- Is success measured by adoption, by a health outcome, or by revenue?
### What a Strong Answer Covers
- A deliberate choice of health area and teen segment, justified by unmet need rather than convenience
- Pain points specific to teens: privacy from parents and peers, stigma, limited money and autonomy, products that feel preachy, and phone habits
- Solutions prioritized by impact, effort and safety, with a clearly scoped first version
- Success metrics that track wellbeing outcomes rather than time in the app, plus guardrails
- Safety and compliance: escalation when a teen is in crisis, minors' privacy law, features that could harm teens, and the role parents play
### Follow-up Questions
- A parent asks to see everything their teen logs in the app. What do you build, and what do you refuse?
- Teens open the app every day, but their stress and sleep do not improve. What do you change?
- How would you reach teens who would never search an app store for a health app?
Overview: A Google product sense question asking you to design a health app for teenagers. It tests narrowing health to one underserved need and teen segment, identifying pain points such as privacy and stigma, prioritizing a safe first version, choosing outcome-based success metrics, and managing minors' privacy and crisis-safety risks.