Quick Exit a Page
Warning: This page contains mentions of domestic violence.
While doing some design system research for work, I stumbled upon a fascinating design pattern detailed in the GOV.UK Design System.
The "Exit This Page" button is a component that allows a visitor to leave the current website and redirects them to another innocuous page. The button is invaluable for people in dangerous or abusive domestic situations seeking online resources to help in their plight. Also known as a Quick Exit button, the design pattern has been around for quite a while and is used by domestic abuse charities, legal aid organizations, and government websites worldwide to keep their vulnerable visitors safe while browsing online.
While simply named, the Exit the page button doesn't just navigate to another page. The design pattern employs a very specific order of operations to protect visitors accessing sensitive information that can put them at risk of abuse or harm. When the button is clicked, JavaScript code runs, opening up a new tab in the browser to a new website, such as weather.com. Then the code forces the original tab to redirect to a search engine and then erase the last visited page containing the sensitive material.
This three-step process is crucial in ensuring that the visitor minimizes their trail if someone comes to look over their shoulder. A suspicious party won't be able to click the Back button and see the page the visitor accessed. Additionally, using a real website like weather.com is less suspicious than showing an empty search engine page, as it provides real information that affords plausible deniability to the visitor.
As the Quick Exit is intended as a safety feature, it needs to be highly visible and easy to access. Rendering it as a high-contrast button or a full-width banner fixed at the top or bottom of the viewport is the recommended implementation, taking advantage of Fitts's Law.
Additionally, accessibility is a must. Screen readers should inform users about the button as discreetly as possible, and the button must have a quick and simple keyboard shortcut to trigger the escape hatch (e.g., GOV.UK uses three presses of the Shift key to avoid conflicts with other shortcuts). Finally, the website employing the Quick Exit pattern should have an Online Safety page, telling the user how the button works and providing other tips on how to stay safe online – incognito mode, clearing browser histories, and so on.
When implemented correctly, the Exit this page pattern can protect someone in a dangerous situation from violence when they are accessing the information they need to save themselves. In the right scenario, this piece of user experience design can save lives. As designers, we need to lead with empathy and care when we craft our products. We must put the human first so that the experience we design does no harm and helps keep them safe.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic violence or intimate partner abuse, you can call, chat, or text The National Domestic Violence Hotline, available 24 hours a day, every day: 800-799-7233 or 800-787-3224 (TTY).