UX Glossary | A
Antipersona
Also: Anti-persona, Abuser persona, Negative persona
A profile of someone whose use of the product would harm users or the business, written so the team designs against misuse.
An antipersona describes a person you do not want to serve: the one who would use your product to hurt other users, defraud the business or break the rules it depends on. It is a persona turned inside out. Instead of “what does this person need”, it asks “what is this person trying to get away with, and how will our design help or hinder them”.
What it is for
Most design assumes good faith. That works until the product has a messaging feature, a refund button, a free trial, a review form or a shared location. An antipersona gives the team a face for the bad case, so protections get designed in instead of patched on after the first incident.
A fraudster on a marketplace, for example, might create several trial accounts, post listings that copy real ones and push buyers to pay off-platform. Written down, that profile points straight at design decisions: friction at sign-up, reporting that takes one tap, payment messaging that warns before money leaves the platform.
Common mistake
Treating the antipersona as a security problem only. Many protections are interface decisions, and they cost honest users something. The useful question is how little friction you can add for everyone else.
Not to be confused with
An antipersona is not a user you simply decided not to prioritise. That is a segment you are deprioritising, which is a different conversation. The antipersona is defined by intent to cause harm.