Case Study: How Sketchy tackled account sharing and improved personalization with Rupt

Sketchy is a unique learning platform that helps medical students retain information through visual storytelling. Its innovative approach made it a must-have for aspiring doctors. Sketchy faced a common challenge in the edtech world: account sharing. Medical students were sharing their Sketchy subscriptions, often out of kindness, causing a loss in revenue and a less personalized experience for users.

The Challenge: Rampant account sharing

Like many edtech platforms, Sketchy observed account sharing as a significant problem from early on. Students, wanting to help their peers, frequently shared accounts, resulting in multiple users under a single subscription.

Through surveys, Danielle found that a large number of students were sharing their accounts. This wasn’t necessarily done with ill intent, but rather the students didn’t realize the impact it would have on the company. Danielle noted that those in the education sector often pull resources together to help each other out, teachers and students alike.

First attempts: In-house solutions and external tools

Prior to implementing Rupt, Sketchy had experimented with in-house solutions like multiple session interception, but these efforts provided only a soft touch and limited success in preventing account sharing.

Then, they tried using external tools like fingerprintJS, but it would identify a single device as multiple users. This was not a good solution for Sketchy. It also required a lot of manual work to identify and and challenge users.

The Solution: Rupt’s account sharing prevention

In 2023, Sketchy partnered with Rupt to solve this issue. With Rupt’s two-factor authentication and device management features, Sketchy was able to take a more firm but balanced approach to tackling account sharing. Users were limited to three devices per account, and Rupt’s technology ensured that accounts could no longer be shared freely without being detected.

"

We saw about 4% of account sharers convert immediately after implementing Rupt, which was fantastic. This was a lot more than we were getting prior to using Rupt."

 

Danielle Dyess, Principal Product Manager at Sketchy

Key Results

• 20% within three months of account sharers into paying customers.
• Unlocked double-digit percentage revenue growth Sketchy's revenue grew by double digit (percentage points) after implementing Rupt.
• Maintained a positive user experience and zero customer support tickets Sketchy expected and planned for an initial increase in support tickets in the first few weeks after implementing Rupt. After this period, the number of support tickets dropped to one ticket in the last quarter.

The Implementation: Seamless integration and initial results

After implementing Rupt, Sketchy saw a 4% immediate conversion rate among users who had previously shared accounts. This was a significant improvement over their previous attempts. More importantly, this number continued to grow over time and reached 20% within three months.

Sketchy also found that Rupt’s soft stick approach—requiring users to verify emails and limit devices—worked well and had no negative impact on churn or user experience.

Conclusion: A continued journey

With account sharing successfully addressed, Sketchy and Rupt are now focusing on continued growth and innovation. The other products that Sketchy offers are also benefiting from Rupt’s account sharing prevention and device management features including repeat trials, churn prediction, and more.

As Sketchy continues to grow, Rupt remains a key partner in their mission to offer personalized learning tools while securing their business model.

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