--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're an app, how do you keep people…" description: "\"If you're an app, how do you keep people hooked? Turn yourself into a slot machine.\" — Tristan Harris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/tristan-harris-15820_app_if-you-re-an-app-how-do-you-keep-people_2194539.jpg" --- # If you're an app, how do you keep people hooked? Turn… ![“If you're an app, how do you keep people hooked? Turn yourself into a slot machine.” quote by Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/tristan-harris-15820_app_if-you-re-an-app-how-do-you-keep-people_2194539.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/tristan-harris-15820_app_if-you-re-an-app-how-do-you-keep-people_2194539.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/tristan-harris-15820_app_if-you-re-an-app-how-do-you-keep-people_2194539.jpg) > “If you're an app, how do you keep people hooked? Turn yourself into a slot machine.” [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Design products to exploit variable reward schedules, like slot machines, to maximize user engagement and habit formation. **In simple terms:** Make apps addictive by using unpredictable rewards. Key Takeaway Use reward loops wisely, avoid manipulation. Themes behavior design habit formation ethics technology Mood concerned critical Type cautionary ethical When to use this quote - app development - marketing - product design - user retention Key Concepts variable reward psychology user engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can designers balance engagement with user well‑being? - What ethical safeguards are needed? A Different Perspective May foster addiction and reduce autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [App](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/app/) [App People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/app-people-4651060/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Hooked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hooked/) [Keep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keep/) [Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machine/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Hooked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-hooked-4606208/) [Slot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slot/) [Slot Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slot-machine-483031/) [Yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yourself/) ## Related quotes > [Keke Rosberg is as calculating as a slot machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-stanley/keke-rosberg-is-as-calculating-as-a-slot-machine/) [Louis Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-stanley/) > [God is not a slot machine. We don't go to God to get something; we go to give something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-angelica/god-is-not-a-slot-machine-we-don-t-go-to-god-to-get-something-we-go/) [Mother Angelica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-angelica/) > [No one has more faith than the person who plays the slot machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/no-one-has-more-faith-than-the-person-who-plays-the-slot-machine/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I think that Vegas is one of the wildest places I've ever been to. You can look to your left and there's a drag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-thomason/i-think-that-vegas-is-one-of-the-wildest-places-i-ve-ever-been-to-you/) [Marsha Thomason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-thomason/) > [At AOL, we thought the killer app was people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-case/at-aol-we-thought-the-killer-app-was-people/) [Steve Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-case/) > [People get hooked on a certain type of false hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-get-hooked-on-a-certain-type-of-false-hope/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The way people get hooked on fame... it can behave very much like an addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-pinsky/the-way-people-get-hooked-on-fame-it-can-behave-very-much-like-an/) [Drew Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-pinsky/) > [“People are not hooked on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook but on each other. Tools and services come and go; what is constant is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hermida/people-are-not-hooked-on-youtube-twitter-or-facebook-but-on-each/) [Alfred Hermida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hermida/) > [While you can use muscle-memory to unconsciously move your thumb to open an app without thinking, it's actually impossible to type on a keyboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/while-you-can-use-muscle-memory-to-unconsciously-move-your-thumb-to/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [Our old - fashioned system is better than any new - fangled voting machine. Not only is it guaranteed to work, but there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-chretien/our-old-fashioned-system-is-better-than-any-new-fangled-voting/) [Jean Chretien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-chretien/) > [Grace does not work like a penny in a slot machine. Grace will move you only when you want it to move you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/grace-does-not-work-like-a-penny-in-a-slot-machine-grace-will-move/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“This person sees not her own hand depositing the next dollar in a slot machine, but the hand of fate, or God. It’s her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-talmage-mathis/this-person-sees-not-her-own-hand-depositing-the-next-dollar-in-a/) [John-Talmage Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-talmage-mathis/) > [When the money is not spent on cars and refrigerators and is instead dropped into a slot machine, it leaves the economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/when-the-money-is-not-spent-on-cars-and-refrigerators-and-is-instead/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [“I want to skip this part. I want to pull on the arm of my slot machine and let the rolls flip over until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-want-to-skip-this-part-i-want-to-pull-on-the-arm-of-my-slot-machine/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [For every slot machine you add, you lose one job per year from the consumer economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/for-every-slot-machine-you-add-you-lose-one-job-per-year-from-the/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) ## More by Tristan Harris > [Traditional companies have been subject to licensing for many years. Attention utilities should be required to obey limits on data extraction and message amplification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/traditional-companies-have-been-subject-to-licensing-for-many-years/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [Magicians start by looking for blind spots, edges, vulnerabilities and limits of people's perception, so they can influence what people do without them even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/magicians-start-by-looking-for-blind-spots-edges-vulnerabilities-and/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [Our online news feeds aggregate all of the world's pain and cruelty, dragging our brains into a kind of learned helplessness. Technology that provides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/our-online-news-feeds-aggregate-all-of-the-world-s-pain-and-cruelty/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [I actually worry that we're so mindlessly following the herd on privacy and data being the principle concerns when the actual things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/i-actually-worry-that-we-re-so-mindlessly-following-the-herd-on/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [We're going to need a new social contract with the tech world one that asks for consent, and one with transparent goals. Right now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/we-re-going-to-need-a-new-social-contract-with-the-tech-world-one/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [For any company whose business model is advertising, or engagement-based advertising, meaning they care about the amount of time someone spends on the product,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/for-any-company-whose-business-model-is-advertising-or-engagement/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [If we really wanted to have a reorientation of the tech industry toward what's best for people, then we would ask the second question,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/if-we-really-wanted-to-have-a-reorientation-of-the-tech-industry/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [Technology steers what 2 billion people are thinking and believing every day. It's possibly the largest source of influence over 2 billion people's thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/technology-steers-what-2-billion-people-are-thinking-and-believing/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [You're either on, and you're connected and distracted all the time, or you're off, but then you're wondering, am I missing something important? In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/you-re-either-on-and-you-re-connected-and-distracted-all-the-time-or/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [Tech companies are distracting, dividing and outraging citizens to the point where there is little basis for common ground. This is a direct threat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/tech-companies-are-distracting-dividing-and-outraging-citizens-to-the/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [Once you start understanding that your mind can be scheduled into having little thoughts or little blocks of time that you didn't choose, wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/once-you-start-understanding-that-your-mind-can-be-scheduled-into/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [We want to have a relationship with technology that gives us back choice about how we spend time with it, and we're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/we-want-to-have-a-relationship-with-technology-that-gives-us-back/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [Apps or media who make money on advertising are never satisfied with 'enough' of your attention. They will always fight for more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/apps-or-media-who-make-money-on-advertising-are-never-satisfied-with/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [I'm an expert on how technology hijacks our psychological vulnerabilities. That's why I spent the last three years as a Design Ethicist at Google…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/i-m-an-expert-on-how-technology-hijacks-our-psychological/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) > [Technology is causing a set of seemingly disconnected things - shortening of attention spans, polarization, outrage-ification of culture, mass narcissism, election engineering, addiction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-harris/technology-is-causing-a-set-of-seemingly-disconnected-things/) [Tristan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) [Explore all 42 Tristan Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-harris/) ## More App quotes > [Customers want a broad assortment, especially with e-commerce. If you pull up your mobile app to look for something at Walmart, we want you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/customers-want-a-broad-assortment-especially-with-e-commerce-if-you/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [Truth is, people like buying things for $0.99 and $1.99 for their digital devices. We know that from iTunes. We know that from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lee/truth-is-people-like-buying-things-for-0-99-and-1-99-for-their/) [Jennifer Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lee/) > [When you say 'follow me on Twitter,' and you get 10 million people to follow you - you just leveraged your influence to add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nipsey-hussle/when-you-say-follow-me-on-twitter-and-you-get-10-million-people-to/) [Nipsey Hussle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nipsey-hussle/) > [I believe Microsoft has every right to operate a PC app store and to curate it how they choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sweeney/i-believe-microsoft-has-every-right-to-operate-a-pc-app-store-and-to/) [Tim Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sweeney/) > [The genesis of the Thinking Talent app came from wanting to create a way to scale self-discovery with a framework that we, personally, inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-ghosn/the-genesis-of-the-thinking-talent-app-came-from-wanting-to-create-a/) [Caroline Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-ghosn/) > [I mainly use Instagram and Twitter to be able to interact with fans and talk to them, and then Snapchat is the app I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-schnapp/i-mainly-use-instagram-and-twitter-to-be-able-to-interact-with-fans/) [Noah Schnapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-schnapp/) > [On all open platforms, regardless of whether it's Facebook or the Apple App Store, the largest segment is entertainment and games. It's the largest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-huateng/on-all-open-platforms-regardless-of-whether-it-s-facebook-or-the/) [Ma Huateng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-huateng/) > ['Shelby Star' is going great. We shot a music video, and I'm building an app and some other things for the project.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-milian/shelby-star-is-going-great-we-shot-a-music-video-and-i-m-building-an/) [Christina Milian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-milian/) > [WhatsApp doesn't only fail to protect your WhatsApp messages - this app is being consistently used as a Trojan horse to spy on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pavel-durov/whatsapp-doesn-t-only-fail-to-protect-your-whatsapp-messages-this-app/) [Pavel Durov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pavel-durov/) > [I've never been on a dating app, so I don't really know the difference between swiping left or right, LOL.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanel-west-coast/i-ve-never-been-on-a-dating-app-so-i-don-t-really-know-the-difference/) [Chanel West Coast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanel-west-coast/) > [TikTok is the app that Vine should have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dobrik/tiktok-is-the-app-that-vine-should-have-been/) [David Dobrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dobrik/) > [If a developer wants to sell something via an iPad app - it's called an 'in-app purchase' - the transaction must go through Apple,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/if-a-developer-wants-to-sell-something-via-an-ipad-app-it-s-called-an/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [In America they started to refer to Telegram as 'ISIS's preferred messaging app,' But in reality there are many more legitimate users.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pavel-durov/in-america-they-started-to-refer-to-telegram-as-isis-s-preferred/) [Pavel Durov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pavel-durov/) > [I delete the Twitter app during the season.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-herman/i-delete-the-twitter-app-during-the-season/) [Tom Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-herman/) > [There's not a single flashlight app that's not spying on you right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcafee/there-s-not-a-single-flashlight-app-that-s-not-spying-on-you-right-now/) [John McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcafee/) [Browse all 95 App quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/app/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're an app, how do you keep people hooked? 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