--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you are using an internet service for…" description: "\"“If you are using an internet service for free, you are not the customer, you are the product.”\" — Robert W. McChesney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/robert-w-mcchesney-87473_internet_if-you-are-using-an-internet-service-for_902400.jpg" --- # If you are using an internet service for free, you are not… ![“If you are using an internet service for free, you are not the customer, you are the product.” quote by Robert W. McChesney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/robert-w-mcchesney-87473_internet_if-you-are-using-an-internet-service-for_902400.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/robert-w-mcchesney-87473_internet_if-you-are-using-an-internet-service-for_902400.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea4/robert-w-mcchesney-87473_internet_if-you-are-using-an-internet-service-for_902400.jpg) > ““If you are using an internet service for free, you are not the customer, you are the product.”” Robert W. McChesney ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Free internet services profit from users, turning them into products rather than customers. **In simple terms:** Free services make you the product. Key Takeaway Support platforms that respect user ownership. Themes privacy economics digital rights Mood cautious thoughtful Type economic ethical When to use this quote - Choosing paid services - advocating for regulation - educating peers Key Concepts Surveillance capitalism data ownership consumer protection Questions to Reflect On - Do you value privacy over cost? - How can users demand better terms? A Different Perspective Not all free services exploit users equally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) ## Related quotes > [A few years ago, users of Internet services began to realize that when an online service is free, you're not the customer. You're the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/a-few-years-ago-users-of-internet-services-began-to-realize-that-when/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [If what you are getting online is for free, you are not the customer, you are the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-zittrain/if-what-you-are-getting-online-is-for-free-you-are-not-the-customer/) [Jonathan Zittrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-zittrain/) > [Another differentiator is that Skype is free and simple to set up, and it costs us virtually nothing for a new user to join…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niklas-zennstrom/another-differentiator-is-that-skype-is-free-and-simple-to-set-up-and/) [Niklas Zennstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niklas-zennstrom/) > [When something online is free, you're not the customer, you're the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-zittrain/when-something-online-is-free-you-re-not-the-customer-you-re-the/) [Jonathan Zittrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-zittrain/) > [This is our commitment to users and the people who use our service, is that Facebook's a free service. It's free now. It will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/this-is-our-commitment-to-users-and-the-people-who-use-our-service-is/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [Before I became the president of AT&T's consumer division, I was running strategy and our internet services, so I was the president of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-schulman/before-i-became-the-president-of-at-t-s-consumer-division-i-was/) [Dan Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-schulman/) > [Internet service providers should not be permitted to block, throttle and unfairly favor certain content, applications, services or devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ro-khanna/internet-service-providers-should-not-be-permitted-to-block-throttle/) [Ro Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ro-khanna/) > [With an economy that is going strong and a belief that tomorrow will be better than today, it may be easier to just shrug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-soltis-anderson/with-an-economy-that-is-going-strong-and-a-belief-that-tomorrow-will/) [Kristen Soltis Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-soltis-anderson/) > [The Internet works thanks to loose but trusted connections among its many constituent parts, with easy entry and exit for new Internet service providers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-zittrain/the-internet-works-thanks-to-loose-but-trusted-connections-among-its/) [Jonathan Zittrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-zittrain/) > [Anyone with an Internet service provider can be a pundit or whatever they want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/anyone-with-an-internet-service-provider-can-be-a-pundit-or-whatever/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [Net neutrality is the idea that Internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all traffic that goes through their networks the same, not offering preferential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-ammori/net-neutrality-is-the-idea-that-internet-service-providers-isps/) [Marvin Ammori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-ammori/) > [An Internet service provider reasonably needs to know your name and address. But it's hard to imagine why a provider would need to collect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ro-khanna/an-internet-service-provider-reasonably-needs-to-know-your-name-and/) [Ro Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ro-khanna/) > [The internet service is merely a source of entertainment for those girls who use FB to find their BF.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/the-internet-service-is-merely-a-source-of-entertainment-for-those/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [We want to be able to service our customers more, like an Internet service. Our goal is to run one of the largest Internet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/we-want-to-be-able-to-service-our-customers-more-like-an-internet/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [I don't know of any Internet service that opens on a regional basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/i-don-t-know-of-any-internet-service-that-opens-on-a-regional-basis/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) ## More by Robert W. McChesney > [“My core argument is that most assessments of the Internet fail to ground it in political economy; they fail to understand the importance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-mcchesney/my-core-argument-is-that-most-assessments-of-the-internet-fail-to/) Robert W. McChesney > [ “In the United States \[…\] the two main business-dominated parties, with the support of the corporate community, have refused to reform laws that make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-mcchesney/in-the-united-states-the-two-main-business-dominated-parties-with-the/) Robert W. McChesney Explore all 3 Robert W. McChesney quotes ## More Customer quotes > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/) Michael Fishman > [If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [The exact details of how you practice value investing will vary investor to investor, but the fundamental principle of scouring the world, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/the-exact-details-of-how-you-practice-value-investing-will-vary/) [Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/) > [The best way to hold customers is to constantly figure out how to give them more for less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kotler/the-best-way-to-hold-customers-is-to-constantly-figure-out-how-to/) [Philip Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kotler/) > [Perhaps the most important reason to be skeptical of government inflation numbers is that the government, like a fox campaigning to guard a hen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/perhaps-the-most-important-reason-to-be-skeptical-of-government/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) > [I believe confusion is good. Worldwide market leaders gain when there is confusion in the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhash-chandra/i-believe-confusion-is-good-worldwide-market-leaders-gain-when-there/) [Subhash Chandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhash-chandra/) > [Damn inflation, full speed ahead,' Greenspan has said in both action and word. I think an investor should believe him and invest accordingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gross/damn-inflation-full-speed-ahead-greenspan-has-said-in-both-action-and/) [Bill Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gross/) > [“When companies get big, they devote most of their care and feeding to the business that got them big. This is as it should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/when-companies-get-big-they-devote-most-of-their-care-and-feeding-to/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [“Salesmanship is usually the art of making it the prospect’s problem, the salesperson’s need or desire to earn money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/salesmanship-is-usually-the-art-of-making-it-the-prospect-s-problem/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Browse all 9,257 Customer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you are using an internet service for free, you are not the customer, you are the product.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert W. 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