'user-regulated' originates from the combination of 'user' and 'regulated', where 'user' refers to the person operating or controlling something, and 'regulated' means controlled or maintained according to a set of rules or standards.

'user-regulated' evolved from the need to describe systems or settings that are controlled by the end-user, as opposed to being automatically managed by the system.

Initially, it meant 'controlled by the user', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.