When to Use 'Your' vs 'My' in UI (and When to Drop Both)

Prefer no pronoun when the context makes ownership clear. When needed, use 'your' in UI copy that addresses the user and 'my' in form inputs where the user states their own intent. Avoid 'my' in navigation to prevent confusion in guidance and support.

Key Points

• Often omit pronouns entirely; simple labels like 'Account', 'Orders', or 'Cases' are clear enough in context.
• 'My' in navigation causes confusion across channels (onboarding, help, support) where instructions naturally say 'your'.
• Use 'your' when the product speaks to the user (nav labels, headings, instructions).
• Use 'my' when the user is speaking through inputs (form options like radios and checkboxes).
• A radio-button example shows why 'my' clarifies user intent, while 'your' sounds incorrect in that context.

Sentiment

The community is largely supportive of the article's premise but pushes the conclusion further. Rather than debating your-vs-my, the dominant HN position is that pronouns should be dropped from UI labels altogether whenever possible. There is mild frustration with the trend of overly casual, infantilizing UI language across platforms, with many commenters expressing particular annoyance at Microsoft and French government sites. The overall tone is constructive and engaged rather than hostile.

In Agreement

• Microsoft's own UX Interaction Guidelines already prescribe this exact pattern: second person for system-to-user, first person for user-to-system commands
• Using 'your' is better for support and documentation contexts because saying 'go to your cases' is natural, while 'go to my cases' creates confusion over whose cases are meant
• Localization experts and UX writers confirm that pronoun choices cause significant translation headaches across languages with formality distinctions or complex declension
• Having dedicated UX writers or 'user assistance professionals' working alongside dev teams dramatically improves UI text quality and translation outcomes

Opposed

• The stronger position is to drop both pronouns entirely — 'Documents', 'Account', 'Cases' are clearer than either 'My' or 'Your' variants, and macOS already does this
• Windows XP's 'My' prefix was justified in context as a useful signal for users encountering multi-user systems for the first time, distinguishing personal from shared folders
• Support agents can work around 'My' labels by quoting them in instructions — 'click on the tab that says My Cases' — making the article's concern about support confusion overstated
• The article's share-photo dialog example is overly verbose and the real problem is UI bloat; a simple checkbox labeled 'Share profile photo' eliminates the pronoun question entirely
• This entire debate is bikeshedding — the distinction rarely causes real user confusion and doesn't warrant deep analysis