The Power of Identicons: Enhancing the User Experience in AirGap
Creating a transaction and double checking the address can be a hurdle because, in the process, you will find addresses and secrets with dozens of characters that do not follow a clear pattern. A nifty tool that we have incorporated into AirGap are identicons. Those are helping you check everything with a glance of an eye.
Visual patterns are king
The human brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text and retains 80% of the information received in this form, as indicated by research sources such as “The Importance of Visual Content Marketing” by Hubspot and “Visual Ideation” by Salesforce. Consequently, incorporating colors and images into processes has been shown to greatly enhance the recognition of patterns and familiarity with differences.
The concept of “identicons” was first introduced by Don Park in 2007 as a way to visually represent data that is typically shown as numbers or strings on the web. There are many different identicon formats with different styles to explore. https://github.com/drhus/awesome-identicons.
These graphical representations can be seen on websites such as GitHub and Stack Exchange, as well as others that have comment sections. By serving as default avatars, Identicons help users quickly differentiate between posts made by different individuals in the same thread.
In AirGap, identicons are created based on either the user’s address or the fingerprint of the recovery phrase. In AirGap, two sorts of identicons are in use:
- For the accounts we use the so-called Blockies. These are used in AirGap Wallet as well as in AirGap Vault. Blockies get created by using the user’s crypto address as an input.
For the secret (only on AirGap Vault) we use the Lifehash identicons. Please note that the lifehash identicon is only available in the Advanced mode and is not shown by default. The Lifehash identicons are generated by the fingerprint of the recovery phrase and use this data to then create a unique visual representation. Note that hashes (eg. the fingerprint of the recovery phrase) can not be used to reverse-engineer the original input.
Some of the benefits of identicons in AirGap
Blockies identicons for simplification
For example, if you have a wallet with the following seed phrase:
“dwarf waste sudden direct tilt dumb penalty shoot quantum arrange coil panic clutch mixed surge hello solar mimic erode trim hotel mother bar vacuum”
You can generate multiple wallets from it. Another common use case for identicons is to easily distinguish between multiple wallets by simply looking at the visual representation. For instance, if you generate multiple wallets such as work and personal, the wallet assigns a unique identicon to each wallet. This way, you can easily identify which account you are using without having to read the address. Identicons offer a simple and intuitive way to visually differentiate between multiple accounts, making it easier to manage and organize them.
Use Lifehash Identicons for authentication
Instead of using the address for this authentication, another feature of the identicons in AirGap Vault are the lifehash identicons for each secret. This feature is only available when the advanced mode is enabled (AirGap Vault > Settings > Advanced Mode > Advance). With this feature, the lifehash of the fingerprint of the recovery phrase is displayed on the secret card. This also serves the same purpose of authenticating the address using the identicons for the address.
Verification
Another great feature of the identicon in AirGap is its uniform display across all three devices involved in a transaction: the vault, the sender, and the receiver. The receiver address is displayed identically on each device, making it easy for users to verify that they are sending their funds to the correct address.
The use of identicons eliminates the need for users to rely solely on text-based information for verification purposes. Instead, they can quickly and easily identify the receiver’s address through the unique image associated with it. This enhances the overall user experience and adds an extra layer of security to the transaction process.
For example, if a user mistakenly entered the wrong address, the identicon associated with that address would not match the one they were expecting to see. This discrepancy would immediately alert the user to the error, allowing them to take the necessary steps to rectify the situation before the transaction is completed.
The blue circle shows the identicons for the sender address. The red circle shows the identicons for the receiver’s address.
Conclusion
In summary, there are many implementations of Identicons but the benefits of using them to represent data, such as a user’s wallet address and seed phrase, offer several key benefits, such as:
- Improved user experience: By generating an easy-to-recognize visual representation of a user’s wallet address, this reduces the likelihood of errors, making the overall experience of using AirGap Wallet more seamless and user-friendly.
- Enhanced Security: With identicons, users can quickly identify if they have entered the correct seed phrase associated with their wallet address. Through the lifehash or address identicon, If the identicon generated is different from what they expect, they may immediately sense that something is wrong and make the necessary adjustment.
- Easy recognition: Identicons simplify the need to verify the accuracy of the address you are sending funds to. The unique and visually distinct image generated based on the address serves as an easy-to-recognize representation, making it easier to confirm that the correct recipient is being sent the funds.
At AirGap, we strive to provide our users with not only a secure wallet, but also one that offers the best user experience. We utilize all available tools and techniques to achieve this goal.
Do you have any questions regarding AirGap?
Reach out to us via Discord, Telegram or visit the AirGap help-center.
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