Benutzenden

Benutzenden is a German term used to refer to the people who use a system, service, or product. It functions as a gender-neutral plural noun and is found mainly in information technology, user experience, and policy texts. The term denotes users collectively, regardless of gender, and can include customers, employees, researchers, or members of the public who interact with digital services.

Linguistic notes on the form and usage vary. Benutzende is a common neutral plural form, while Benutzenden is an inflected variant used in certain grammatical cases (for example in phrases like "mit den Benutzenden" or "für die Benutzenden"). In practice, many style guides prefer more explicit or traditional terms such as Benutzer, Nutzer, oder Anwender, or they advocate gender-inclusive formulations like Benutzerinnen und Benutzer. Nonetheless, Benutzenden appears in technical and policy-oriented texts as a gender-neutral option to refer to the user group.

In practical use, Benutzenden serves to describe the target audience or user base of a system without implying gender. It is often employed in documentation, privacy notices, compliance texts, and requirements specifications where a neutral, collective reference to users is desired. When selecting terminology, organizations weigh clarity, audience, and consistency with existing documentation. Some contexts favor simpler synonyms such as Benutzer, Nutzer, or Nutzende, depending on the familiarity of the reader and the document’s formal tone.

See also: Benutzer, Nutzer, Anwender, Nutzende.