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AI Product Tools / MIF Explorer / Library / UX
Truth Layer
MeaningfulLeading Truth Layer
The Truth Layer is the badge system that tells you how trustworthy, directional, or risky a measure is.
Why it matters: It helps teams separate meaningful signals from vanity, misuse, or AI distortion before they optimize the wrong thing.
Example: A metric can be Meaningful, Leading, or Vanity Risk.
Day 7 Retention
The percentage of users who return to the product on day 7 after their first use.
Evaluation method
users_active_on_day_7 / users_who_signed_up_on_day_0 × 100
Signal type
leading
What it is best for
Predicting long-term retention from early user behavior
What it tells you +
Whether the product delivered enough value in the first week to establish an early habit.
What it does not tell you +
Guarantee long-term retention or indicate the quality of week-1 engagement.
When to use it +
- Predicting long-term retention from early user behavior
- Evaluating onboarding and activation effectiveness
- Comparing acquisition channel quality by retention of users they bring
When not to use it +
- For products with natural use cycles longer than a week
- As the sole retention metric without D30 or D90 context
How leaders misuse it +
- Using aggregate D7 retention instead of cohort-based analysis
- Attributing retention changes to product changes without controlling for channel mix
Anti-patterns +
- Sending aggressive day-6 re-engagement notifications to inflate the number
Companion entries +
This entry is stronger when paired with:
Instrumentation or evaluation guidance +
Measure by cohort. Day 7 means exactly 7 days after first activity, not "within the first week."
Sample events
session_start Examples +
A note-taking app has D7 retention of 22%. Cohort analysis shows users who create 3+ notes on day 1 retain at 51%. The team redesigns onboarding to encourage note creation.
Suggested decisions +
- Below 15%: critical retention problem. Re-examine first-run experience.
- Between 15-30%: investigate what separates returning users from non-returning users.
- Above 40%: strong early retention. Focus on converting to long-term engagement.