Chapter 3
User journeys
One product, two entry models. Web is browse-first: guests can explore discovery content and are asked to sign in when they try to act. Mobile is account-first: the welcome screen is sign up / login, and the main app is behind an account. After login, both run the same loop — but mobile can finish it and web often cannot.
Shared core loop
General user (GU)
Private network. Reviews and ratings are visible to circles. Recommendations go to a person or group and stay there. Typical path: sign up, pick platforms, add friends, review what you watched, send recs, keep a watchlist.
Public profile user (PPU)
Optional second identity created in the mobile app. Anyone can follow. Used by people who want an audience beyond friends. Followers can save those reviews to a watchlist and share them onward. Web can follow a PPU; it cannot become one.
Web journey
Guests land on a region home (/in, /us, …). Header tabs: New, Trailers, Circles, Awards. Onboarding after first login: streaming services plus country, preferred languages, suggested public profiles.
- Arrive and browse Trailers, new releases, Pick of the Week, festivals, featured public profiles, stories, search. No account required.
- Sign in when they act Watchlist, follow, react, comment, and circle actions open an auth modal. Email, Google, or Facebook. Password reset is a modal. Apple Sign In is in auth options but the UI is commented out.
- Onboard in three steps Overlay: services + country → languages → follow public profiles. Completing this personalizes availability and chips.
- Discover from the home feed Signed-in home is supposed to add circle recommendations and a personal watchlist beside public rails. In production, home after login is still a public trailer catalog (see Design).
- Decide on a title Movie page opens reviews if any exist, otherwise trailers. Users read circle and public-profile reviews, see where it streams, write or edit a review, save it, or copy a review link.
- Stay in the social graph Circles split into friends, following, followers, and other/public profiles. My Profile holds watchlist, reviews, recommendations, friends, and followings.
| Surface | What the user does |
|---|---|
| Home /{region} | Trailers, new releases, Pick of the Week, featured profiles, festivals, stories, recommendations, watchlist |
| New / Trailers | Browse recent and upcoming titles by region |
| Circles | Friends, following, followers, public and other profiles |
| Awards | Festival catalog, a festival page, panel discussions |
| Movie | Reviews or trailers, write a review, watchlist, streaming platforms |
| My Profile | Watchlist, reviews, recommendations, friends, followings, edit profile / platforms / languages |
Mobile journey
Five tabs after onboarding: Home, Circles, Search, Library, Settings. Country + streaming platforms cannot be skipped; favorite titles and add-friends can. Reloading resumes the last unfinished onboarding screen.
- Launch into an account Splash, then LaunchUp: Google, Apple, or email. Forgot/reset password is a dedicated screen. Terms and privacy sit on the welcome screen.
- Onboard preferences Country + platforms, then languages. Optional favorites, friends, and a short product tour.
- Live in five tabs Home is a dashboard: stories, upcoming, new releases, Pick of the Week, festivals, plus notifications, send-a-recommendation, and add-friends/group.
- Act on a title Poster, info, trailers, circle reviews. Bottom actions: rate/review, recommend to a person or group, watchlist, share. Comments open a thread.
- Grow Circles Friends and groups. Plus menu: add friends, follow public profiles, create a group, invite. Friend requests confirm via notifications.
- Keep a Library and get pinged Library tabs: Watchlist, Reviews, Recommendations (given and received). Push covers friend requests, new followers, recs, review comments/reactions, and watchlist titles becoming available.
| Tab / screen | What the user does |
|---|---|
| Home | Stories, upcoming, new releases, Pick of the Week, festivals; notifications and send recommendation |
| Circles | Friends and groups; add friends, follow public profiles, create group, invite |
| Search | Find titles, then open movie detail |
| Library | Watchlist, own reviews, given/received recommendations |
| Settings | Profile, favorites, public-profile upgrade, platforms, languages, theme, help, logout, delete account |
| Movie | Info, trailers, circle reviews, rate, recommend, watchlist, share, comments |
Web vs mobile at each stage
| Stage | Web | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Region home; guests browse | Splash → LaunchUp; must create or enter an account |
| Auth | Modal: email, Google, Facebook | Full screens: email, Google, Apple; forgot/reset password |
| Onboarding | Overlay: services + country → languages → follow PPUs | Screens: country + platforms → languages → optional favorites and friends |
| Home | Discovery rails + (intended) recs and watchlist | Stories + upcoming / new / POTW / festivals dashboard |
| Social graph | Circles routes; public vs private profile pages | Circles tab; add friends, groups, follow PPUs, invite |
| Title actions | Review on the movie page; watchlist gated by auth | Rate, recommend, watchlist, share, comment thread |
| Library | My Profile: watchlist, reviews, recommendations | Library tab with the same three lists |
| Creator path | Follow public profiles only | Settings → Public Profile promo → registration (PPU) |
| Retention | App install banner / Get Nokio popup | Push: requests, recs, comments, title released |
What both clients already share
These are not gaps. Both expose a usable version, even if the UI differs: email/Google/Facebook auth and password reset; onboarding country/platforms/languages; home discovery rails; movie search; movie page (info, platforms, trailers, reviews, write review, watchlist, recommend); review reactions; follow public profiles and friends/following/followers lists; my watchlist / reviews / recs; edit profile / platforms / languages; festival program + panels; FAQ, Terms, Privacy.
High-impact gaps — missing on web
These break or shrink the signed-in social loop. Backend routes already exist for several of them.
| Feature | Mobile | Web | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notification inbox | Home bell + 12+ types | No UI | Friend requests, recs, comments, and releases have nowhere to land |
| Push notifications | FCM + deep-link routing | No client | Watchlist-released and rec pings are mobile-only |
| Group circles | Create, members, festival join | No create/manage | FAQ describes groups; web cannot form them |
| Circle / DM chat | Realtime sockets | None | Closed-network conversation layer is mobile-only |
| Stories | Create, view, react, comment, recommend | Home carousel of review posters only | No story player or create flow |
| Become a PPU | Promo + registration | Follow only | Creators cannot start on web; API /v2/users/ppu exists |
| Delete account | My Account → Remove | API only | Web users cannot close an account in-product |
Medium gaps on web
- Apple Sign In UI commented out
- Add friends by name and city (mobile uses Google Places)
- Dark mode / Contact Us rows disabled
- Festival social (join circle, friends’ watchlists, intro slides)
- Review comments as a dedicated thread (web: side panel, PPU reviews only)
- Contacts who watched a title; GU/PPU profile switch; native share; realtime movie sockets
Gaps the other way — web is stronger
| Feature | Web | Mobile | Intent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guest browse | Full home, search, movie, festivals, public profiles | Must sign up | Likely intentional |
| Shareable / SEO URLs | /movie/[slug], review permalinks, region URLs | Deep links, not indexable | Likely intentional |
| Trailers hub | Recent vs release pages | Upcoming list from Home | Parity gap |
| App install / QR / store banner | Layout popups and floating badge | N/A | Intentional web growth — currently covers content |
What a member could actually finish on web
Signed-in production session (4 Sep 2026): trailer already playing on home; watchlist 0 → 1; search for “The Gentlemen” with a query works; Follow clicked three times (following 1 → 4); public profile opened; platform settings opened. Failures: review Submit stayed disabled (star rating needs a pointer-move before click); clicking a trailer thumb applied a platform filter instead of playing; empty /movies still has no field.
FAQ says home shows friends’ watches. After login, production home is still a public catalog. Circles “Friends” still shows featured public profiles when the user has no friends — not an empty friends state.
Social events that close the loop
Mobile notifications (and matching in-app activity) close the loop after someone else acts. Web has no inbox for these events.
| Event | User next step |
|---|---|
| Friend / circle invitation | Confirm and the person appears in Circles |
| New follower | Open their public or private profile |
| Movie recommendation | Open the title, watchlist or review it |
| Review comment or reaction | Open the comment thread |
| Recommendation thumbs-up | See who liked a rec you sent |
| Watchlist title released | Open the title and watch elsewhere |
| Someone reviewed a title | Read their review on the movie |
| Network request | Accept and grow the circle |