Manipulation Matrix | A Tool to Assess Habit Forming Products

In 2014, a simple mobile game called Flappy Bird was generating over $50,000 per day in ad revenue. It had topped the charts in multiple countries and had tens of millions of downloads. Then, at the height of its success, creator Dong Nguyen did something unthinkable: he removed it from app stores.

His reason? The game had become too addictive. Players were spending hours tapping their screens, unable to stop. Nguyen couldn't reconcile the financial success with what he saw as a negative impact on users' lives.

This decision crystallizes a question every product builder must face: When does engagement become manipulation?

The Manipulation Matrix

Nir Eyal, author of "Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products," proposes a framework for thinking about the ethics of behavior design. The Manipulation Matrix helps product teams assess whether they're building products that help or exploit users.

The framework asks two critical questions:

Based on your answers, products fall into four categories:

Breaking Down Each Quadrant

Facilitator: The Ethical Sweet Spot

Facilitators build products they use themselves and genuinely believe improve users' lives. This alignment creates products that serve real needs rather than exploit psychological vulnerabilities.

Examples:

• Notion: The team uses Notion internally to build Notion. They experience the same pain points as users and benefit from improvements.
• Spotify: Employees are music lovers who use the service. They want better discovery, better playlists, better audio quality.
• Superhuman: The founders were frustrated email users who built the email client they wanted to use.

The beauty of being a facilitator is that your interests align with users' interests. You improve the product because you want a better product yourself.

Entertainer: The Gray Zone

Entertainers create products they enjoy but question whether they're truly beneficial. This is where Flappy Bird lived.

Dong Nguyen used his own game and found it engaging, but he questioned whether that engagement was actually good for users. The entertainment value was clear, but the broader life impact was questionable.

Other examples might include:

• Short-form video apps (TikTok, Instagram Reels)
• Casual mobile games with aggressive monetization
• Infinite-scroll social feeds

The question for entertainers: Is enjoyment enough? Or do we have a responsibility to consider the opportunity cost of time spent in our products?

Peddler: The Disconnect

Peddlers believe their product helps others but don't use it themselves. This disconnect should raise red flags.

If you truly believed your product improved lives, wouldn't you use it? The fact that you don't suggests either:

• The product isn't actually as valuable as you claim
• You don't understand your users' needs
• You're targeting a demographic different from yourself

Example scenarios:

• A meditation app founder who doesn't meditate
• A fitness tracker team that doesn't track fitness
• A productivity tool built by people who don't have productivity challenges

While there are legitimate cases where you might build for users unlike yourself (accessibility tools, for instance), the peddler category should make you pause and deeply question whether you truly understand user needs.

Dealer: The Exploitation Zone

Dealers build products they wouldn't use themselves and don't believe improve users' lives. This is pure exploitation.

Classic examples:

• Predatory gambling apps with manipulative mechanics
• Intentionally addictive games designed solely to extract money
• Products that exploit psychological vulnerabilities for profit

If you find yourself in this quadrant, you're not building a product; you're exploiting users. Full stop.

The PUBG Case Study: Responsible Design

PUBG Mobile demonstrates how to build engaging products while maintaining ethical guardrails. The game is undeniably engaging and habit-forming, but it includes a crucial feature: after users play for 2+ hours, the game displays warnings encouraging breaks.

This shows:

• Recognition that even enjoyable products can be overused
• Willingness to potentially reduce engagement for user wellbeing
• Understanding that sustainable engagement beats exploitative maximization

The notification system doesn't prevent addiction entirely, but it demonstrates that the creators are thinking about user welfare, not just engagement metrics.

Applying the Matrix to Your Product

Question 1: Would I Use This Product?

Be honest. Really honest. If you're building a time-tracking app but don't track your own time, why not?

Reasons you might not use your own product:

• Legitimate: You're solving a problem you don't have (accessibility tools, products for different age groups)
• Warning sign: The product is too complex, too annoying, or doesn't actually deliver value

If it's the latter, that's a signal to fix the product, not rationalize why you don't use it.

Question 2: Will This Materially Improve Users' Lives?

This is harder to assess, but crucial. Ask:

• What problem does this solve? Be specific.
• What do users gain from using this? Time saved? Skills learned? Connections made?
• What do users sacrifice? Time spent? Money? Attention?
• Is the trade-off positive? Are they better off having used your product?

Entertainment has value, but be honest about whether your product provides meaningful entertainment or just fills time that could be better spent elsewhere.

Building Ethical Habit-Forming Products

Understanding the manipulation matrix doesn't mean avoiding habit-forming design. It means being intentional about what habits you're forming and why.

Design Principles for Facilitators

1. Create healthy engagement loops
Design for regular, beneficial use, not compulsive overuse. Think Duolingo's 5-minute lessons, not infinite scroll.

2. Build in circuit breakers
Like PUBG's warnings, consider features that encourage healthy boundaries. Instagram's "You're All Caught Up" is an example of this thinking.

3. Measure meaningful outcomes, not just engagement
Track whether users are achieving their goals, not just whether they're spending time in your app.

4. Be transparent about behavior design
Users should understand how and why your product is engaging. Mystery and manipulation are cousins.

5. Prioritize long-term user welfare over short-term metrics
A user who achieves their goal and leaves is better than a user who's endlessly engaged but making no progress.

The Flappy Bird Legacy

Dong Nguyen's decision to remove Flappy Bird was controversial. Some saw it as noble; others as leaving money on the table. But it raised an important question that every product builder should confront:

The most sustainable products aren't those that maximize engagement at all costs. They're products that genuinely improve users' lives, creating engagement as a byproduct of value delivered, not as an end in itself.

Your Ethical Checkpoint

Before building your next feature, run it through the manipulation matrix:

1. Would you use this feature?
2. Will it materially improve users' lives?
3. What quadrant does your answer put you in?
4. If you're not in the Facilitator quadrant, what needs to change?

Habit-forming products can be powerful tools for positive behavior change. But that power comes with responsibility. Use the manipulation matrix not as a theoretical exercise, but as a practical tool to ensure you're building products that truly serve users, not exploit them.

Your users, and your conscience, will thank you.