How Dark Patterns Trick You Online and How to Avoid Them

How Dark Patterns Trick You Online and How to Avoid Them

Have you ever felt like a website or an app is trying to trick you into doing something you don’t want to do? Maybe you’ve been pressured to buy a product before a timer runs out, or you’ve agreed to share your data without realizing it, or you’ve found it hard to cancel a subscription or delete an account. If so, you’ve probably encountered a dark pattern.

Summary: Dark patterns are design elements that trick users into making choices that benefit the company at the expense of the customer experience. They are unethical and harmful to users’ trust and satisfaction. The FTC has taken action against several companies that use dark patterns to trick and trap consumers. Users can avoid becoming victims of dark patterns by being vigilant and skeptical, reading the privacy policies and terms of service, using browser extensions or tools that can help them detect and block dark patterns, practicing empathy, and balancing their needs with the business goals of the websites and apps they use.

Key Takeaways:

• Dark patterns are deceptive design elements that manipulate users’ behavior and choices online.
• Dark patterns can cause serious harms to users’ financial, privacy, emotional, and social well-being.
• The FTC has sued or investigated several companies that use dark patterns to trick and trap consumers.
• Users can avoid falling for dark patterns by being aware of how they work and how to avoid them.

What Are Dark Patterns?

The term “dark patterns” was coined by user experience designer Harry Brignull in 2010. He created a website called Dark Patterns to name and shame deceptive user interfaces. He also identified 12 types of dark patterns and how they work.

In short, dark patterns are design elements that deliberately obscure, mislead, coerce, or deceive users into making choices that benefit the company at the expense of the customer experience. They exploit human psychology and cognitive biases to manipulate users’ behavior and choices. They are unethical and harmful to users’ trust and satisfaction.  

Dark patterns are everywhere online. They can be found in e-commerce, social media, search engines, cookie consent banners, children’s apps, and subscription services. They take various forms, such as disguised ads, hidden costs, bait and switch, confirmshaming, privacy zuckering, misdirection, and more.

Dark patterns are not only annoying and frustrating for users, but they can also cause serious harms, such as financial loss, privacy invasion, emotional distress, and social manipulation. They can also violate consumer protection laws and regulations.

What is the FTC doing about this?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the main agency that enforces consumer protection laws in the US. In recent reports, FTC has shown an increase in dark patterns, being deployed by more and more companies, to trick or manipulate consumers into purchasing products or giving up their privacy rights. It has taken action against several companies that use dark patterns to trick and trap consumers. For example:

• In 2022, the FTC sued Facebook for using dark patterns to undermine users’ privacy choices. The FTC alleged that Facebook used deceptive disclosures and settings to trick users into giving up more personal data than they intended.
• In 2023, the FTC launched an investigation into Amazon for using dark patterns to enroll customers into its Prime membership program. The FTC claimed that Amazon made it difficult for customers to cancel their Prime trials or memberships, or to opt out of automatic renewals.

How can you avoid becoming a victim of dark patterns? Here are some tips:

• Be vigilant and skeptical when interacting with websites and apps. Don’t click on buttons or links without reading the fine print or understanding the consequences.
• Read the privacy policies and terms of service of the websites and apps you use. Look for any hidden clauses or fees that might affect your rights or choices.
• Use browser extensions or tools that can help you detect and block dark patterns. For example, Privacy Badger can prevent online tracking, Terms of Service; Didn’t Read can summarize the terms of service of websites, and Dark Pattern Detector can alert you to potential dark patterns on web pages.
• Practice empathy and think about how your choices might affect others. Don’t fall for social pressure or guilt-tripping tactics that try to influence your decisions.
• Balance your needs with the business goals of the websites and apps you use. Don’t let them persuade you to buy more than you need or want, or to give up more than you are comfortable with.

Dark patterns are a serious threat to online users’ autonomy and well-being. They undermine the principles of fair and transparent design. By being aware of how they work and how to avoid them, you can protect yourself from online manipulation and deception.