Activation

Activation is the point where a new user first reaches the product's core value, defined as a named action completed inside a fixed time window.

Activation is not a standardised metric. Each product picks its own qualifying action and window, so activation figures do not compare across products or even across two teams in one company. The action is usually chosen from data, by looking at which early behaviour separates users who stay from users who leave, and that is where the trap sits: correlation with retention is not causation, and pushing more users through the action does not necessarily transfer the retention that came with it. Defining activation too early in the journey, such as at account creation, keeps the number near one hundred percent and makes it useless.