Let’s take a step back. We spend countless hours obsessing over our products—designing, coding, refining. We imagine users diving in as deeply as we do, feeling the same sense of connection and investment. But what if we’re wrong? What if the majority of users only interact with our app for a few minutes each week, while we’re pouring in 40+ hours?

This isn’t a small disconnect. It’s a massive gap between how we see our product and how users experience it. And it raises a big question: what if users never logged in?

We’re designing for the wrong thing

Think about it. So much of what we design is driven by the idea that engagement equals value. If users are spending time in the app, we must be doing something right—right? But time in the app doesn’t always mean value. Sometimes, it just means we’ve created more hoops for them to jump through.

What if, instead of designing products that ask for more of their time, we design for products that give them more time back?

The goal isn’t engagement—it’s results

Here’s a radical idea: what if the best user experience is the one that doesn’t require users to interact with your product at all? What if our tools worked quietly in the background, delivering value without ever needing users to open the app?

Imagine an app that solves problems or provides updates without the user needing to log in. No more dashboards to check. No more endless notifications pulling them back in. Just results—delivered seamlessly.

Rethinking product design

If we let go of the idea that engagement is king, it opens up a world of possibilities. We can start designing for outcomes, not interactions. It’s about asking questions like:

• What if users could get the value of your product without logging in?

• What if your app worked behind the scenes, so they didn’t need to check in constantly?

• What if the experience was about proactive updates—reaching users where they already are, like their inbox or their calendar?

These questions push us to rethink the role of our apps. They challenge the idea that users should want to spend time in our product. Maybe they shouldn’t.

Let the product do the work

There’s real power in creating tools that don’t demand constant attention. Tools that serve users’ needs without requiring them to sit down and focus on the app itself. This could mean proactive notifications that deliver key insights, or seamless integrations with systems users already rely on.

For example, a fitness app that tracks your health without making you check in every day. Or a project management tool that sends you a weekly summary, without you having to dig for updates. It’s about delivering value on users’ terms, not yours.

Less friction, more freedom

We’ve gotten into the habit of measuring success by how much time users spend in our apps. But what if we flipped that? What if success was measured by how much time we give back to users? By how effortlessly they can achieve their goals, without needing to engage with our product?

This approach not only respects users’ time but also deepens their trust in the product. If your tool can deliver value without asking for constant attention, it becomes a tool they rely on, not just something they check in with out of habit.

Let’s build products that respect users' time

At the core, this is about respect. Respect for the user's time, attention, and focus. Our goal shouldn’t be to create products that demand more from them. It should be to create tools that give them more—more time, more results, more freedom.

When we start thinking this way, we stop obsessing over features and engagement metrics and start focusing on what truly matters: outcomes. Let’s create products that work for users, not the other way around.

So here’s the challenge: what if your users never logged in? What would your product look like then?