New users see generic content and leave
New users have no history. Ask them what they're into so you can show relevant stuff immediately.
When to use
Your product has diverse content/features and personalization makes a real difference.
Hypothesis template
If we ask users to pick fill in: N interests during signup, their first session will be better because they'll see stuff they actually care about.
Method
The problem: New users see a generic feed or empty state. Nothing grabs
them. They leave before they see the good stuff.
What Pinterest does: Before showing the main feed, asks users to pick 5+
topics they're into.
Why it works:
- You know nothing about new users—their picks solve that
- Users who invest time upfront are more likely to stay
- First experience is relevant, not random
The result: First-pin saves increased 20%+ after implementing this.
How to do it:
- Define 10-20 interest categories that matter for your product
- Require a minimum selection (Pinterest requires 5)
- Make selection fast and visual (image tiles, not dropdowns)
- USE THE SELECTIONS IMMEDIATELY (don't ask then show generic content anyway)
- Let them refine later, but get enough upfront
Success metrics
- •Onboarding completion
- •First-session actions
- •Content relevance (clicks, saves)
- •7-day retention by # of interests picked
Prerequisites
- Enough content to personalize against
- Recommendation system that uses the data
- Visual selection UI
Common pitfalls
- •Too many interests (overwhelming)
- •Not actually using the selections
- •Generic categories that don't help
Source: Pinterest. Interest onboarding increased first-pin saves 20%+.
Suggested ICE scores
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