The 'Shake to Report' Feature That Generated 500+ User Feedback Points in Weeks

Getting meaningful feedback from users is one of the biggest challenges facing early-stage product teams. Most startups struggle with low response rates to surveys, generic feedback that's hard to act on, or users who simply don't bother sharing their thoughts at all.

João Neves and his team at Bloop found an unexpectedly effective solution: let users shake their phones when something frustrates them.

In a recent episode of the Levels Podcast, João shared how this simple, creative feature became one of their most valuable product development tools, generating over 500 pieces of actionable feedback in just weeks.

The Creative Spark Behind Shake to Report

The idea didn't come from the founders or product managers—it emerged from the engineering team itself. João explained the origin:

"By the way, interesting fun fact is that we built a shake to report feature. It was an idea of one of our engineers, a very creative engineer, that suggested that to be closer to our customers and get feedback."

This grassroots innovation reflects something important about building feedback mechanisms: sometimes the best ideas come from the people actually building the product, who understand both the technical possibilities and user pain points.

How It Actually Works

The mechanics are brilliantly simple. When users encounter something frustrating or confusing in the Bloop app, they can literally shake their phone to instantly access a feedback form. João described the user experience:

"We could build a feature where you literally shake your phone and it will pop up a form for you to give us feedback on, in this screen, I would like to have this button or I would like to see this feature."

The beauty is in the context. Unlike traditional feedback surveys that ask users to remember and describe their experience later, shake to report captures feedback at the exact moment of friction, when the pain point is fresh and specific.

The Psychology of Frustration Release

There's something psychologically satisfying about the shake gesture that makes it more than just a feedback tool. As one of the podcast hosts noted, it taps into the natural human reaction of shaking something when we're annoyed.

João confirmed this insight:

"Yeah, so you'll release your frustration at the same time that they give feedback."

This emotional release mechanism likely increases completion rates because users get immediate satisfaction from the action itself, making them more likely to follow through with detailed feedback rather than just closing the app in frustration.

Quantity and Quality of Results

The results speak for themselves. João shared their success metrics:

"I think we got already more than 500 pieces of feedback like that. And that is really helping us guide and prioritize like you were asking what to build next and where are the main pain points?"

But it's not just about volume—the quality and specificity of feedback improved dramatically. Because users are providing input at the exact moment they encounter issues, the feedback is contextual and actionable.

Using Feedback to Drive Product Decisions

The shake to report feature transformed how Bloop approaches product prioritization. Instead of guessing what users want or relying on usage analytics alone, they have direct insight into friction points. João explained how they use this data:

"Where should we invest more on? Is it the search? Is it the checkout experience? Is it the post? What is it? So we are using that data a lot to drive what comes next and what comes first."

This real-time feedback loop allows them to make product decisions based on actual user pain points rather than assumptions or theoretical improvements.

Implementation Considerations

While the concept sounds simple, implementing shake to report effectively requires thoughtful consideration:

Timing sensitivity: The feature needs to respond quickly to the shake gesture without being triggered accidentally during normal phone movement.

Context capture: The system should automatically capture what screen the user was on and what actions they had just taken.

Form design: The feedback form itself needs to be quick to complete while still gathering useful information.

Follow-up process: Having 500+ pieces of feedback is only valuable if there's a system to categorize, prioritize, and act on the input.

Why This Works Better Than Traditional Methods

Traditional feedback collection methods often fail because they create friction between experiencing a problem and reporting it. Users have to remember the issue, navigate to a feedback form, and reconstruct the context of what went wrong.

Shake to report eliminates this friction entirely. The moment users feel frustrated, they can immediately communicate that frustration while the details are fresh in their minds.

The feature also removes the formal barrier that makes many users hesitant to provide feedback. Shaking a phone feels playful and spontaneous rather than like filling out a customer service form.

Broader Applications

While Bloop built this feature for their social shopping platform, the concept could work for virtually any mobile app where user experience is critical. E-commerce apps, social media platforms, productivity tools, and gaming apps could all benefit from this kind of contextual feedback mechanism.

The key is matching the feedback method to your user base and product type. For a mobile-first platform targeting younger demographics, shake to report feels natural and engaging.

Building Community Through Feedback

Beyond just collecting data, the feature helps build community between Bloop and their users. It signals that the company genuinely wants to hear from users and is willing to innovate on how they collect that input.

This kind of creative approach to user engagement can differentiate a startup from competitors who rely on standard feedback mechanisms that users often ignore.

João's experience shows that sometimes the most effective product features are the ones that feel almost too simple to work. By reducing friction, tapping into natural human behaviors, and capturing feedback at the moment of truth, shake to report became an essential tool for Bloop's product development process.

Key Points

• The shake to report feature was suggested by an engineer, not product management, highlighting the value of team-driven innovation

• Users shake their phone to instantly access a feedback form when encountering frustrations

• The feature generated over 500 pieces of feedback in just weeks after implementation

• Capturing feedback at the moment of frustration provides more accurate and actionable insights

• The psychological satisfaction of "releasing frustration" increases completion rates

• Real-time contextual feedback helps prioritize product development more effectively than traditional methods

• The approach eliminates friction between experiencing problems and reporting them

• Success depends on fast response times, context capture, and streamlined feedback forms

Listen to the full conversation with João Neves on the Levels Podcast to learn more about innovative approaches to user feedback and community building.