Wikimedia Apps/Team/iOS/Watchlist

Background
As the Wikipedia community continues to grow and evolve, listening and responding to our users' needs and requests is crucial. One such proposal that has resonated with many users is implementing the Watchlist feature within our Wikipedia apps. This feature enables users to maintain a list of articles they're interested in, making it easy to stay updated on their changes and edits.

User Benefits
The Watchlist feature is designed to cater to the diverse needs of our users. Based on our research, our users use the watchlist feature for the following purposes:


 * 1) To prevent vandalism: Users can monitor and contribute to the articles they follow, ensuring the content's accuracy and reliability.
 * 2) To keep up with the news: By following articles related to current events or topics they're interested in, users can stay informed about the latest updates and developments.

Why is the Watchlist Feature Important?
The Watchlist feature is important for several reasons:


 * 1) Enhanced user experience: It allows users to stay informed about changes to the articles they care about, fostering a more engaged user experience.
 * 2) Ownership and responsibility: It promotes a sense of ownership and responsibility among users, as they can keep track of and contribute to the articles they follow.
 * 3) Increased user retention: It encourages users to stay active within the community, driving user retention and participation.

Why Native Implementation Matters
The Watchlist feature being native is important for several reasons:


 * 1) Mobile-first experience: Native integration allows users to remain in the app for contributions and access their watchlist offline, ensuring a seamless experience.
 * 2) Accessibility: A native implementation ensures that the feature adheres to the user's font/theme settings, supports offline access, and is compatible with screen readers.
 * 3) Personalization and customization: Users can personalize their watchlist experience through theming and other customization options.
 * 4) Innovation: A native watchlist feature supports multilingual feeds, allowing users to follow articles in multiple languages.
 * 5) Safety: Native implementation helps mitigate vandalism by providing tools to monitor and report suspicious activity.
 * 6) Continuity: Users can benefit from features like filters, watchlist expiry, and a count of articles being watched, ensuring consistency across platforms

What's next?
This page will be updated frequently as we move further into development of this new feature.