“Your” vs “My” in User Interfaces Published: 29 August 2025 Overview When designing user interfaces, choosing between “My” and “Your” for referring to the user’s data (e.g., accounts, orders, cases) can impact clarity and usability. Common choices include: “My account” vs “Your account” “My orders” vs “Your orders” “My cases” vs “Your cases” Often, you don’t need either prefix; simply using Account, Orders, or Cases suffices. Amazon exemplifies this by labeling menus without possessive pronouns because it’s clear the data belongs to the user. The Problem with “My” Using “My” in navigation might seem natural, e.g., “My cases.” However, issues arise outside menu contexts: In onboarding flows, emails, or help articles, saying “Go to my cases” sounds unnatural since it implies the speaker’s cases. Support agents instructing users “Go to your cases” can clash with UI labels using “My cases,” causing confusion. Using “Your” addresses these problems seamlessly. Research and practical experience show “Your” in UI text causes no confusion. When To Use “My” In user input scenarios like forms or radio buttons: A question might be: “Do you want to share your profile photo?” Options like “Yes, share your profile photo” without changing perspective can sound like an instruction from user to system about someone else’s profile. Using “my” in responses (e.g., “Yes, share my profile photo”) clearly communicates the user’s intent. Summary: Use “Your” when the system is communicating to the user. Use “My” when the user is communicating back to the system. Additional Resources For those interested in mastering form design and UX, Adam Silver offers a course: Form Design Mastery Newsletter Invitation Designer, content designers, and engineers can join over 9000 subscribers receiving weekly evidence-based design tips focusing on forms and usability in just 3 minutes or less. --- Contact and Navigation Home Bio Blog Newsletter Social links: Twitter YouTube LinkedIn Other links include Tools, Reading, and additional resources for designers. --- Images referenced in original post demonstrate the points above, including Amazon’s menu, navigation with “My cases” vs “All cases,” and radio button label examples.