Product Design: An App That Helps Children Connect With Others
Company: Stripe
Role: Product Manager
Category: Product Design & Strategy
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Other
Design an app that children use to communicate. Decide which children it serves first, who they communicate with, and what it does that the tools they have today do not.
```hint Sort by age first
Group children by age and note what each group can already do, such as read, type or carry its own device, and who decides what they install, before choosing whom to build for.
```
### Clarifying Questions
- Is this for children talking with each other, with family and other adults, or both?
- Is there a target age range, or is choosing one part of the exercise?
- Must it run on the phones and tablets children already use, or could it include a dedicated device?
- What matters most: reaching many families, earning revenue, or proving that children's communication can be made safe?
### What a Strong Answer Covers
- A chosen age segment and the relationships served first, with the reasons and the alternatives rejected
- The needs of both the child and the parent or guardian, and where they conflict
- Prioritized solutions, an MVP and what is deliberately left out
- Safety, privacy and the legal obligations of a children's product built into the design
- Success metrics with guardrails
### Follow-up Questions
- The app is useful to a child only once their friends are on it. How would you get the first friend groups to join?
- A parent asks to read every message their child sends. How do you handle that request, and what does the child see?
- How should the product change as your users grow out of the segment you chose?
Overview: A product design question asking the candidate to design an app that children use to communicate. It tests segmenting children by age and need, balancing what kids want against what parents require, prioritizing an MVP, building in safety and privacy, and choosing success metrics with guardrails.