The second version of the StayPrivate.org service was released yesterday. v2 It contains significant enhancements to v1 which are detailed below.

It seems like a while since the heady days of June 2010 when the website fell over following unexpected mainstream media coverage on version 1 launch day. Since then we’ve racked up a substantial 28,000+ registrants and the site continues to draw praise for its simple and free solution to a problem experienced by people of all ages, backgrounds and denominations.

We’ve purposely opted for a very quiet release in this instance to allow for snagging and rectifying the inevitable teething problems. We will be publicising the site modestly in February but in the meantime, here’s some background on the new features in version 2.

New opt-out services added

In line with our aim to increase the range of opt-out services covered by StayPrivate.org, we’ve added in the ability to register with the Direct Marketing Association’s Corporate Telephone Preference (CTPS) and Fax Preference (FPS) services.

Support for business registrants

Since the CTPS is business-specific and is unavailable to home registrants, it made sense to separate registration into distinct residential and business types. Residential registrants are given access to the Mail (MPS), Telephone (TPS), Baby Mail (BMPS) and FPS services whilst business registrants can access the CTPS and FPS services. Following account creation, indication is given in the dashboard section as to which type of account a user holds.

Delegated registrations

Feedback indicated that a significant number of users wished to register on behalf of a family member or friend lacking internet access and/or an email address. In response to this, we altered the account management area to allow multiple homes to be registered from a single email address. Accordingly, we’ve also provided the ability to manage each set of address details from the account dashboard.

Improvements to help and guidance

We receive a large number of queries requesting assistance on a range of issues from basic usability queries to concerns over the nature of marketing communications received by our users post sign-up. As a team of two that doesn’t work in this area exclusively, fielding these queries, let alone responding in detail to each one, is a massive task. We therefore place great importance in the quality and simplicity of the guidance information we provide and this has been edited, added to and repositioned to improve clarity, to provide as much assistance as possible and to reduce repetition.

Improving this information is not a science – rather it involves simple analysis of the queries received and a common sense approach to answering them. Ensuring that all issues are covered, keeping language as simple and free of jargon as possible, making appropriate information easier to locate by grouping and indexing questions, signposting where assistance is out of scope and stating clearly what CF Labs/StayPrivate.org can and cannot do are the basic yet fundamental tenets we have strived to observe. Along with instructing users to read the FAQ as the first step on our help page, of course…

Visual design

We’ve freshened up the design as well as made some necessary changes to accommodate elements introduced in version 2. There are now two sign up buttons to cater for the addition of business registrations to our original residential service. We’ve added big bold icons to the homepage to draw attention to information on the main aspects of the service. We’ve also included a visual map of the registration journey on our ‘About’ page to illustrate the process in a comprehensive way and further eliminate any confusion as to how the service operates.

Background improvements

On the back end, we’ve built a comprehensive admin system that allows us to do more things faster and more easily, from manipulating registration throughput levels to quickly updating service status messages. We’ve also added SSL security to the site, making StayPrivate.org even more private!

Feedback

As always, we appreciate any feedback you have. Either leave a comment here, or email feedback [at] stayprivate.org.