A machine learning test doubled Life360’s top-tier subscriptions — without losing a single mid-tier user

Life360, an app with nearly 100 million monthly active users, adheres to a "freemium bill of rights" that ensures features essential to family safety remain free, avoiding the strategy of degrading the free tier to boost subscriptions. Giordano Contestabile, VP of Product at Life360, emphasizes experimentation as a portfolio approach, valuing the data from failed experiments to refine future tests. A notable success arose from using machine learning to tailor subscription offers, doubling Platinum subscriptions without affecting Gold subscribers. However, attempts to digitize word-of-mouth referrals among parents, their primary discovery channel, failed as the demographic naturally shares offline. This insight highlights the importance of understanding user behavior, as Life360 expands its ecosystem by integrating features like Tile and new offerings such as "pet profiles," while pursuing growth across all departments.