IBKR Mobile - Invest Worldwide 4+

Suggestions for Improving Account Security and Accessibility

I am writing to share my recent experience and provide feedback on how the platform could better support users in urgent situations.

Recently, my phone was stolen, and during this stressful time, I encountered several challenges in regaining control of my IB account. Based on this experience, I’d like to suggest the following improvements:
1. 24-Hour Urgent Call Service:
There was no readily available 24-hour urgent helpline to suspend my account immediately. Having such a service would help users secure their accounts quickly in emergencies.
2. Alternative Ways to Restore Accounts:
The current reliance on the app for account restoration is problematic for users who lose access to their phones. Introducing more accessible alternatives for account recovery would be highly beneficial.
3. Enhanced Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Options:
The IB Key system is somewhat confusing, especially during high-stress situations. Adding additional 2FA options, such as Google Authenticator or email codes, would offer users greater flexibility and ease of use.

I believe these changes could significantly enhance security and improve the user experience, particularly during emergencies like mine. Thank you for considering this feedback.

Generally good, UI needs improving.

Using IBKR for its ISA. The positives are low ISA fees for a global legacy broker, wide range of stocks and ETFs, market news, can access an ETF’s MorningStar report. Best of all though is the Portfolio analyst section to monitor your holdings. Provides very detailed reports, charts, figures on your portfolio’s performance.

This app’s UI could be improved though, it suffers from the occasional bug. IBKR need to make the dashboard and stock search bar more user friendly. The search function feels dated compared to other platforms. For instance it’s often easier to find an ETF ticker from other apps then type the ticker into IBKR search bar.

It’s not made easy for people new to investing (for ISAs). Signing up and opening could be made easier and quicker. Depositing money could be made easier too- other platforms often have seamless connection to your bank account (like Truelayer) which reduce the scope for errors.

All in all I do recommend IBKR.

Entwickler-Antwort ,

We thank you for your kind words. apologies. Starting from scratch with a fresh UI framework, IBKR Desktop combines the best of both proven and new technologies. We've included many of the most popular tools from our flagship TWS along with a growing suite of original new features like Option Lattice and Screeners with MultiSort. This perfect synthesis of the known and the novel combined with our superior order execution results in a sleek, speedy platform that’s easy to navigate but still packs a punch in the features department. You can download the software here: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/ibkr-desktop.php. We look forward to turning this experience around for you.

Service is great, Interface has issues

Freedom to trade as you wish, but a convoluted interface that desperately needs a UI overhaul

As a broker, it does most everything - access to a ton of markets, option-trading, out of hours trading, ability to subscribe to real-time data, and a useful news feed.

That said, there are quite a few negatives:
- Options Interface is better on their simpler app. It would be nice to be able to have that a choice here, so switching between apps wouldn’t be necessary.
- Some functions are available in-app, but many require you to open an in-app browser, log in again, and try to navigate - slowly - to what you need. It’s infuriating and they really need to sort out their back end to allow the app to natively handle everything.
- Dark mode is great on the simple app - terrible here.
- Watchlists are only saved locally, meaning if you log in with a different interface (other app, browser, etc), you no longer see them. This also means if you ever need to reinstall the app, you lose all your lists.
- Their subscriptions, like access to real time data, are near-impossible to find, and even harder to figure out their prices.
- Buying power is not shown clearly, not does the app clearly explain if calls sold are covered, not what collateral they use for selling puts.