This phrase has been around since at least 2010 and has been popularized over the years by many big names in tech and media circles ranging from Tim O'Reilly an

This phrase has been around since at least 2010 and has been popularized over the years by many big names in tech and media circles ranging from Tim O'Reilly and Bruce Schneier to Jake Tapper among many many others. In most cases, that coverage was just highlighting discussions already happening across various social spaces. And the concept behind this sentiment can be traced to earlier TV advertising days. Not my personal definition. [0][1][2][3][4][5] (there are dozens, if not hundreds more). I've never heard anyone use it to describe Apple's approach to ads or search agreements until this comment thread. I'm not excited about debating semantics, but there's a lot of conceptual weight attached to the phrase that can't be ignored here. - [0]: https://techland.time.com/2010/10/15/facebook-youre-not-the-customer-youre-the-product/ https://techland.time.com/2010/10/15/facebook-youre-not-the-... - [1]: https://x.com/timoreilly/status/22823381903 https://x.com/timoreilly/status/22823381903 - [2]: https://x.com/jaketapper/status/976473447374221313 https://x.com/jaketapper/status/976473447374221313 - [3]: https://bryanalexander.org/digital-literacy/you-are-the-product-one-interesting-source-for-the-meme/ https://bryanalexander.org/digital-literacy/you-are-the-prod... - [4]: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/09/ello-says-youre-not-a-product-but-you-are/380809/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/09/ello-... - [5]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvZYwaQlJsg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvZYwaQlJsg (1973)