Mozilla Account Funnels

Table of Contents

Introduction

There are two primary "funnels" that users step through when authenticating with FxA. The registration funnel reflects the steps required for a new FxA user (or more precisely, email address) to create an account. The login funnel reflects the steps necessary for an existing FxA user to sign into their account.

We are also in the process of developing funnels for paying subscribers. We will add documentation on that once the work is is closer to complete.

Registration Funnel

While there are some variations, the typical registration funnel is comprised of the steps described in the chart below. Except where noted, these events are emitted by the FxA content server.

StepAmplitude EventFlow EventDescription
1fxa_email_first - viewflow.enter-email.viewView (impression) of the form that the user enters their email address into to start the process. Note that this form can be hosted by FxA, or hosted by the relying party. In the latter case, the relier is responsible for handing the user's email address off to the FxA funnel. See "counting top of funnel events" below.
2fxa_reg - viewflow.signup.viewView of the registration form. If the user got to this step via step 1, FxA has detected that their email address is not present in the DB, and thus a new account can be created. The user creates their password and enters their age.
3fxa_reg - engageflow.signup.engageA user focuses/clicks on one of the registration form fields.
4fxa_reg - submitflow.signup.submitA user submits the registration form (could be unsuccessfully).
5fxa_reg - createdaccount.createdThis event is emitted by the auth server. It indicates that user has entered a valid email address and password, and that their account has been created and added to the DB. However, the account is still "unverified" at this point and therefore not accessible by the user.
6fxa_email - sent (email_type = registration)email.verification.sentAn email is sent to the user to verify their new account. Depending on the service, it either contains a verification link or a verification code that the user enters into the registration form to verify their email address.
7fxa_reg - cwts_viewflow.signup.choose-what-to-sync.viewUser views the "choose what to sync" screen which allows the users to select what types of browser data they want to synchronize. Note that the user is not required to submit this page - if they do not take any action then all the data types will be synced by default. Thus you may not want to include this (and the following two events) in your funnel analysis if you do not care about the user's actions here.
8fxa_reg - cwts_engageflow.signup.choose-what-to-sync.engageUser clicks on the "choose what to sync" screen.
9fxa_reg - cwts_submitflow.signup.choose-what-to-sync.submitUser submits the "choose what to sync" screen. See also the amplitude user property sync_engines which stores which data types the user selected.
10fxa_email - clickemail.verify_code.clickedA user has clicked on the verification link contained in the email sent in step 6. Note this only applies to cases where a clickable link is sent; for reliers that use activation codes, this event will not be emitted (so be aware of this when constructing your funnels).
11fxa_reg - email_confirmedaccount.verifiedThis event is emitted by the auth server. A user has successfully verified their account. They should now be able to use it.
12fxa_reg - completeflow.completeThe account registration process is complete. Note there are NO actions required of the user to advance from step 8 to step 9; there should be virtually no drop-off there. The flow event is identical for registration and login.

The chart above provides the most detailed version of the registration funnel that can currently be constructed. However, it should not be considered the "canonical" version of the funnel - depending on the question it may make sense to omit some of the steps. For example, at the time of writing some browser entrypoints (e.g. menupanel) link directly to step 2 and skip the initial email form. Having both steps 7 and 8 may also be redundant in some cases, etc. Also, as noted above, you may want to omit the "choose what to sync" steps if you do not care about the users' actions there.

Login Funnel

The login funnel describes the steps required for an existing FxA user to login to their account. With some exceptions, most of the steps here are parallel to the registration funnel (but named differently).

Users must confirm their login via email in the following cases:

  1. A user is logging into sync with an account that is more than 4 hours old.
  2. A user is logging into an oauth relier that uses encryption keys, if the user had not logged into their account in the previous 72? (check this) hours.
StepAmplitude EventFlow EventDescription
1fxa_email_first - viewflow.enter-email.viewSimilar to the registration funnel, a view (impression) of the form that the user enters their email address into to start the process. Note that this form can be hosted by FxA, or hosted by the relying party. In the latter case, the relier is responsible for handing the user's email address off to the FxA funnel. See "counting top of funnel events" below.
2fxa_login - viewflow.signin.viewView of the login form. If the user got to this step via step 1, FxA has detected that their email address IS present in the DB, and thus an existing account can be logged into. The user enters their password on this form.
3fxa_login - engageflow.signup.engageA user focuses/clicks on the login form field
4fxa_login - submitflow.signup.submitA user submits the login form (could be unsuccessfully).
5fxa_login - successaccount.loginThis event is emitted by the auth server. It indicates that user has submitted the correct password. However, in some cases the user may still have to confirm their login via email (see above).
6fxa_email - sent (email_type = login)email.confirmation.sentAn email is sent to the user to confirm the login. Depending on the service, it either contains a confirmation link or a verification code that the user enters into the login form.
7fxa_email - clickemail.verify_code.clickedA user has clicked on the confirmation link contained in the email sent in step 6. Note this only applies to cases where a clickable link is sent; for reliers that use confirmation codes, this event will not be emitted (so be aware of this when constructing your funnels). Note that this event is identical to its counterpart in the registration funnel.
8fxa_login - email_confirmedaccount.confirmedThis event is emitted by the auth server. A user has successfully confirmed the login via email.
9fxa_login - completeflow.completeThe account registration process is complete. Note there are NO actions required of the user to advance from step 8 to step 9; there should be virtually no drop-off there. The flow event is identical for registration and login.

Note again that you may want to check whether the service you are analyzing requires email confirmation on login.

Branches off the Login Funnel: Password Reset, Account Recovery, 2FA.

Some additional funnels are "branches" off the main login funnel above:

  1. The password reset funnel
  • Optionally - the user resets their password with a recovery key
  1. Login with 2FA (TOTP)
  • Optionally - user uses a 2FA recovery code to login to their 2FA-enabled account (e.g. if they misplace their second factor.)

Password Reset and Recovery Codes

Users can click "Forgot Password?" during sign-in to begin the password reset process. The funnel is described in the chart below.

An important "FYI" here: passwords are used to encrypt accounts' sync data. This implies a bad scenario where a change of password can lead to loss of sync data, if there are no longer any devices that can connect to the account and re-upload/restore the data after the reset occurs. This would happen, for example, if you only had one device connected to sync, lost the device, then tried to login to a new device to access your synced data. If you do a password reset while logging into the second device, the remote copy of your sync data will be overwritten (with whatever happens to be on the second device).

Thus the recovery codes. If a user (1) sets up recovery codes via settings (and stores them somewhere accessible) (2) tries to reset their password and (3) enters a valid recovery code during the password reset process, sync data can be restored without risking the "bad scenario" above.

Password Reset Funnel Without Recovery Key

Note: There may be other places where a user can initiate the password reset process, but I think that its most common during login. In any case, the steps starting at 2 should all be the same.

StepAmplitude EventFlow EventDescription
1fxa_login - viewflow.signin.viewView of the login form, which contains the "Forgot Password" Link.
2fxa_login - forgot_passwordflow.signin.forgot-passwordUser clicks on the "Forgot Password" Link.
3Not Implementedflow.reset-password.viewView of the form asking the user to confirm that they want to reset.
4fxa_login - forgot_submitflow.reset-password.engage, flow.reset-password.submitUser clicks on the button confirming that they want to reset.
5fxa_email - sent (email_template = recovery)email.recoveryEmail.sentDelivery of the PW reset link to the user via email.
5-aNot Implementedflow.confirm-reset-password.viewView of the screen telling the user to confirm the reset via email.
6Not Implementedflow.complete-reset-password.viewUser views the form to create a new password. (viewable after clicking the link in the email above)
7Not Implementedflow.complete-reset-password.engageUser clicks on the form to create a new password.
8Not Implementedflow.complete-reset-password.submitUser submits the form to create a new password.
9fxa_login - forgot_completeflow.complete (the auth server also emits account.reset)User has completed the password reset funnel.

Password Reset Funnel With Recovery Key

Note we still need to implement amplitude events for the recovery code part of this funnel. The funnel is identical to the one above up until step 6.

StepAmplitude EventFlow EventDescription
1fxa_login - viewflow.signin.viewView of the login form, which contains the "Forgot Password" Link.
2fxa_login - forgot_pwdflow.signin.forgot-passwordUser clicks on the "Forgot Password" Link.
3Not Implementedflow.reset-password.viewView of the form asking the user to confirm that they want to reset.
4fxa_login - forgot_submitflow.reset-password.engage, flow.reset-password.submitUser clicks on the button confirming that they want to reset.
5fxa_email - sent (email_template = recovery)email.recoveryEmail.sentDelivery of the PW reset link to the user via email.
5-aNot Implementedflow.confirm-reset-password.viewView of the screen telling the user to confirm the reset via email.
6fxa_login - forgot_password_confirm_recovery_key_viewflow.account-recovery-confirm-key.viewUser views the form to enter their account recovery key. (viewable after clicking the link in the email above)
7fxa_login - forgot_password_confirm_recovery_key_engageflow.account-recovery-confirm-key.engageUser clicks on the form to enter their account recovery key.
8fxa_login - forgot_password_confirm_recovery_key_submitflow.account-recovery-confirm-key.submitUser submits the form to enter their account recovery key.
9Not Implementedflow.account-recovery-confirm-key.success or flow.account-recovery-confirm-key.invalidRecoveryKeyUser submitted a valid (success) or invalid recovery key.
10fxa_login - forgot_password_recovery_key_viewflow.account-recovery-reset-password.viewUser views the form to change their password after submitting a valid recovery key.
11fxa_login - forgot_password_recovery_key_engageflow.account-recovery-reset-password.engageUser clicks on the form to change their password after submitting a valid recovery key.
12fxa_login - forgot_password_recovery_key_submitflow.account-recovery-reset-password.submitUser submits the form to change their password after submitting a valid recovery key.
13fxa_login - forgot_password_recovery_key_successflow.account-recovery-reset-password.recovery-key-consume.success
14fxa_login - forgot_completeflow.complete (the auth server also emits account.reset)User has completed the password reset funnel.

Login with 2FA (TOTP)

Users can setup two factor authentication (2FA) on account login. 2FA is implemented via time-based one-time password (TOTP). If a user has set up 2FA (via settings), they will be required to enter a pass code generated by their second factor whenever they login to their account.

Users are also provisioned a set of recovery codes as part of the 2FA setup process. These are one-time use codes that can be used to login to an account if a user loses access to their second factor. Note that these 2FA recovery codes are different than the account recovery keys described above.

Login with 2FA/TOTP Funnel (No Recovery Code)

This funnel starts after the fxa_login - success / account.login step of the login funnel

StepAmplitude EventFlow EventDescription
1fxa_login - totp_code_viewflow.signin-totp-code.viewView of the TOTP form.
2fxa_login - totp_code_engageflow.signin-totp-code.engageClick on the TOTP form.
3fxa_login - totp_code_submitflow.signin-totp-code.submitSubmission of the TOTP form.
4fxa_login - totp_code_successflow.signin-totp-code.successSuccessful submission of the TOTP form. Auth server also emits totpToken.verified

Login with 2FA/TOTP Funnel w/ Recovery Code

This funnel starts after user clicks to use a recovery code during the TOTP funnel.

StepAmplitude EventFlow EventDescription
1fxa_login - totp_code_viewflow.signin-totp-code.viewView of the TOTP form.
2Not Implementedflow.sign_in_recovery_code.viewView of the TOTP recovery code form.
3Not ImplementedrecoveryCode.verified (auth server)User submitted a valid recovery code.

Settings

A variety of metrics are logged that reflect user interaction with the settings page (https://accounts.firefox.com/settings). The chart below outlines some of these events (this is not an exhaustive list).

Amplitude EventFlow EventDescription
fxa_pref - viewflow.settings.viewUser viewed the settings page.
fxa_pref - two_step_authentication_viewflow.settings.two-step-authentication.viewUser viewed 2FA settings.
Not Implementedflow.settings.two-step-authentication.recovery-codes.viewUser viewed their 2FA recovery codes. These are only viewable one time only, after a user sets up 2FA, or after they generate new codes.
Not Implementedflow.settings.two-step-authentication.recovery-codes.print-optionUser clicks to print their 2FA recovery codes.
Not Implementedflow.settings.two-step-authentication.recovery-codes.download-optionUser clicks to download their 2FA recovery codes.
Not Implementedflow.settings.two-step-authentication.recovery-codes.copy-optionUser clicks to copy their 2FA recovery codes to the clipboard (this is fired only when they click the copy button, not if they copy using e.g. a keyboard shortcut).
Not Implementedflow.settings.change-password.viewUser viewed the form to change their password.
fxa_pref - passwordsettings.change-password.successUser changed their password via settings.
fxa_pref - logoutsettings.signout.successUser logged out via settings.
fxa_pref - newsletter (see also user property newsletter_state)settings.communication-preferences.(optIn\|optOut).successUser changed their newsletter email preferences.
Not Implementedflow.settings.account_recovery.viewUser viewed account recovery settings.
Not Implementedflow.settings.account_recovery.engageUser clicked somewhere in account recovery settings.
Not Implementedflow.settings.account-recovery.confirm-password.viewUser viewed the password form prior to turning on account recovery. (user first has to verify their email address)
Not Implementedflow.settings.account-recovery.confirm-password.viewUser clicked the password form prior to turning on account recovery.
Not Implementedflow.settings.account-recovery.confirm-password.submitUser submitted the password form prior to turning on account recovery.
Not Implementedflow.settings.account-recovery.confirm-password.successUser successfully submitted the password form prior to turning on account recovery.
Not Implementedflow.settings.account-recovery.recovery-key.viewUser viewed their recovery key. This is viewable one time only, after a user sets up account recovery, or after they generate a new key.
Not Implementedflow.settings.account-recovery.recovery-key.print-optionUser clicks to print their recovery key.
Not Implementedflow.settings.account-recovery.recovery-key.download-optionUser clicks to download their recovery key.
Not Implementedflow.settings.account-recovery.recovery-key.copy-optionUser clicks to copy their recovery key to the clipboard (this is fired only when they click the copy button, not if they copy using e.g. a keyboard shortcut).
Not Implementedflow.settings.account-recovery.refreshUser generated a new recovery key.
Not Implementedflow.settings.clients.viewUser viewed the list of clients ("Devices & Apps") connected to their account. AKA the device manager.
Not Implementedflow.settings.clients.engageUser clicked somewhere the list of clients connected to their account.
Not Implementedflow.settings.clients.disconnect.viewUser viewed the dialog asking to confirm disconnection of a device.