Why has Stytch's Email Magic Links feature seen a 20% drop in successful authentications over the past week?

Introduction

Stytch's Email Magic Links feature has experienced a 20% drop in successful authentications over the past week, indicating a significant issue that requires immediate attention. To address this problem, I'll employ a systematic approach to identify, validate, and resolve the root cause while considering both short-term fixes and long-term implications for the product.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Considering the sudden drop, I'm wondering about recent changes. Have there been any updates to the Email Magic Links feature or related systems in the past two weeks?

Why it matters: Recent changes often correlate with performance issues. Expected answer: Yes, there was a minor update to the email sending system. Impact on approach: If confirmed, we'd focus on the recent change as a primary suspect.

• Given the specific 20% drop, I'm curious about user segmentation. Are we seeing this drop across all user segments or is it concentrated in specific groups?

Why it matters: Helps narrow down if it's a universal issue or segment-specific. Expected answer: The drop is more pronounced in enterprise users. Impact on approach: We'd investigate enterprise-specific factors if this is the case.

• Thinking about external factors, has there been any significant change in email delivery rates or spam filter behaviors from major email providers?

Why it matters: External email ecosystem changes could impact authentication success. Expected answer: No major changes reported from email providers. Impact on approach: If confirmed, we'd focus more on internal factors.

• Considering user behavior, has there been any change in the average time between link generation and user click-through?

Why it matters: Changes in user behavior could indicate issues with email delivery or link expiration. Expected answer: There's been a slight increase in average click-through time. Impact on approach: We'd investigate link expiration settings and email delivery speed.