"You're the Product" Adage

The cluster consists of repeated references to the adage 'If you're not paying for the product, you are the product,' discussing its application to free services where users' data becomes the monetized commodity instead of customers.

➡️ Stable 0.5x Startups & Business
1,898
Comments
19
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#7746
Topic ID

Activity Over Time

2008
2
2009
3
2010
35
2011
64
2012
105
2013
94
2014
61
2015
82
2016
73
2017
122
2018
158
2019
127
2020
154
2021
180
2022
157
2023
179
2024
134
2025
153
2026
15

Keywords

E.g YOU app.net medium.com product paying customer free know say aren pay adage customers users

Sample Comments

edge17 Nov 19, 2020 View on HN

You know what they say. If you're not paying for the product, then you probably are the product.

shocks Jul 13, 2013 View on HN

If you're not paying for it then you are the product.

yawaramin Jun 21, 2015 View on HN

Remember kids, if you're not paying for the product, you are the product.

captain_obv Oct 21, 2010 View on HN

"If you are not paying for it, you are the product".

rapsey Jun 19, 2023 View on HN

If you're not paying for it you are the product.

lucb1e Nov 19, 2012 View on HN

"If you're not paying for it, you're the product" - yep.

ThomPete Mar 25, 2011 View on HN

You know what they say right.If you aren't paying for the product, you are the product.

frasermarlow Aug 29, 2025 View on HN

If you're not paying for it, you are the product.

dist-epoch Jul 15, 2024 View on HN

If you're not paying for it, you are the product.

w0m Feb 4, 2020 View on HN

... what?If you aren't paying for it; you are the product. Simple.