If you're not paying for the service, you're the product.

The phrase “if you are not paying for the service, then you are the product” has been used in a variety of forms. One of the earliest sources is found in the article “Little Brother Is Watching You: The Menace of Corporate America” written by Claire Wolfe in 1999. The article mentions electronic markets and the buying and selling of personal data (Quote Investigator).

• You’re Not the Customer; You’re the Product – Quote Investigator®

Also in 2001, in a Usenet newsgroup, Tom Johnson was confirmed to have stated that “TV viewers are not customers, they are a product” (Quote Investigator). Furthermore, in 2010, on the website Metafilter, the user name “blue_beetle,” Andrew Lewis, left the comment “If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you ‘re the product being sold.” (Cornell Blog Service) (EconAmbassador EconAmbassador).

• “If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product.” | Rose Scholars Fall 2020
• “If You\’re Not Paying for It, You\’re the Product” - Conversable Economist

They show that this information is often cited in the context of criticizing free services on the Internet and social media business models.

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The 1999’s are in the form “The punters are not the customer, they’re the product. In 1973, artists Richard Serra and Carlota Fay Schoolman broadcast a short video called “Television Delivers People.” In this video, text slowly scrolled up in white letters on a blue background while a peaceful soundtrack played.

• Commercial television reaches 20 million people per minute.
• In commercial broadcasting, viewers pay for the privilege of being sold to them.
• It is the consumer who is consumed.
• You are a product of television.
• You are delivered to the advertiser. The advertiser is the customer.
• He will consume you.
• Viewers are not responsible for program production.
• You are the end product.

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