The Hidden Dangers of Dark Patterns: How Online Design Elements Can Manipulate Our Decisions

Dark Patterns: How UX design can trick you…

Have you ever felt pressured to buy something online because of a countdown timer, a limited-time offer, or a pop-up message that says “only 3 items left in stock”? Have you ever agreed to share your personal data or location without reading the fine print, just to get rid of a nagging notification? Have you ever struggled to cancel a subscription or delete an account, only to give up and keep paying for a service you don’t use?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you have probably fallen victim to a dark pattern. Dark patterns are deceptive design practices that can trick or manipulate users into doing things they might not otherwise do. They are widely used by websites and apps, from retailers and travel services to social media companies, to influence our behavior and choices online.

Dark patterns are not only annoying and unethical, but they can also have serious consequences for our privacy, security, and well-being. They can make us spend more money than we intended, sign up for unwanted newsletters or notifications, share sensitive information with third parties, or expose ourselves to scams or fraud. They can also erode our trust and confidence in the digital platforms we use every day.

In this article, we will explore the different types of dark patterns, how they work, and why they are so effective. We will also look at some examples of dark patterns in action, and how we can protect ourselves from their harmful effects. Finally, we will discuss the role of regulators, designers, and consumers in combating dark patterns and promoting ethical and transparent design online.

What are dark patterns and how do they work?

Dark patterns are not a new phenomenon. They have been around since the early days of the internet, and they have evolved with the development of new technologies and techniques. However, they have become more prevalent and sophisticated in recent years, as online platforms compete for our attention, data, and money.

Dark patterns can be defined as “a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things, while hiding, disguising or influencing the true cost and consequences of their actions”. They exploit our cognitive biases, emotions, and heuristics (mental shortcuts) to manipulate our decision-making process. For example:

• Scarcity and urgency: creating a sense of limited availability or time pressure to induce fear of missing out (FOMO) and impulse buying. For example, displaying countdown timers, flashing banners, or messages like “only 2 seats left at this price” or “offer ends in 10 minutes”.
• Social proof: showing how many people have bought, liked, or reviewed a product or service to influence our perception of its popularity and quality. For example, displaying ratings, testimonials, or messages like “500 people are viewing this item right now” or “100 people bought this in the last hour”.
• Default bias: pre-selecting options that favor the platform’s interests over the user’s preferences, and making it hard or inconvenient to change them. For example, checking boxes that sign up users for newsletters, notifications, or third-party sharing, or hiding the opt-out buttons in obscure places.
• Framing: using positive or negative language, colors, or images to highlight or downplay certain aspects of a product or service. For example, using green for “accept” and red for “decline”, or using words like “recommended” or “best value” for more expensive options.
• Obstruction: making it easy to sign up for a product or service, but difficult to cancel it or get a refund. For example, requiring users to call a phone number, send an email, or fill out a form to end a subscription, or charging fees or penalties for cancellation.
• Forced action: requiring users to perform an unwanted action before they can access a desired feature or content. For example, asking users to sign up, log in, share their location, enable notifications, or rate the app before they can use it.

These are just some of the common types of dark patterns that can be found online. There are many more variations and combinations of these techniques that can affect our online behavior and choices. To see more examples of dark patterns in action, you can visit Dark Patterns, a website created by Harry Brignull, a user experience consultant and researcher who coined the term in 2010.

Why are dark patterns so effective?

Classic example of a Dark Pattern.

Dark patterns are effective because they take advantage of how our brains process information and make decisions. We are not always rational and logical when we interact with online platforms. We often rely on heuristics (mental shortcuts) that help us save time and effort, but can also lead us to errors and biases. For example:

• Anchoring: we tend to rely too much on the first piece of information we see when making judgments. For example, we might think that a product is a good deal if it is marked down from a high original price, even if the original price was inflated or arbitrary.
• Availability: we tend to judge the likelihood of events based on how easily we can recall examples from memory. For example, we might think that a product is popular or high-quality if we see many positive reviews or ratings, even if they are fake or biased.
• Confirmation bias: we tend to seek out and favor information that confirms our existing beliefs and opinions. For example, we might ignore or dismiss negative reviews or ratings of a product that we already like or want to buy.
• Loss aversion: we tend to prefer avoiding losses over acquiring gains of equal value. For example, we might be more likely to buy a product if we are told that we will lose a discount or a free trial if we don’t act soon.
• Reciprocity: we tend to feel obliged to return favors or gifts that are given to us. For example, we might be more likely to sign up for a newsletter or a subscription if we are offered a free ebook or a trial period.

These are just some of the cognitive biases that can affect our online behavior and choices. There are many more factors that can influence our decision-making process, such as our emotions, motivations, goals, values, personality traits, and social norms. Dark patterns exploit these factors to manipulate us into doing things that we might not otherwise do.

What are the consequences of dark patterns?

Dark patterns can have negative consequences for both users and platforms.

For users, dark patterns can:

• Harm their privacy and security: dark patterns can trick users into sharing their personal data with third parties without their consent or knowledge. This can expose them to identity theft, fraud, spam, phishing, malware, or unwanted tracking and profiling.
• Harm their finances and well-being: dark patterns can trick users into spending more money than they intended or buying products or services that they don’t need or want. This can lead to financial stress, buyer’s remorse, dissatisfaction, frustration, anger, or regret.
• Harm their trust and confidence: dark patterns can erode users’ trust and confidence in the online platforms they use. Users might feel deceived, manipulated, or exploited by the platforms that use dark patterns. This can damage their loyalty, engagement, and satisfaction, and make them less likely to use or recommend the platforms in the future.

As for platforms, dark patterns can:

• Harm their reputation and credibility: dark patterns can tarnish the image and reputation of the platforms that use them. Platforms might face negative publicity, backlash, or boycotts from users, media, or advocacy groups that expose or criticize their dark patterns. This can hurt their brand value, goodwill, and authority.
• Harm their compliance and legality: dark patterns can violate the laws and regulations that govern online platforms. Platforms might face fines, penalties, or lawsuits from authorities, regulators, or consumers that enforce or challenge their dark patterns. This can hurt their profitability, sustainability, and legality.

How can we protect ourselves from dark patterns?

Dark patterns are not easy to spot or avoid. They are designed to be subtle, persuasive, and deceptive. However, there are some steps that we can take to protect ourselves from their harmful effects. For example, we can:

• Be aware and informed: we can educate ourselves about the types and techniques of dark patterns, and how they work. We can also learn about our cognitive biases and heuristics, and how they affect our decision-making process. We can use websites like Dark Patterns or Dark Patterns at Scale to see examples of dark patterns in action.
• Be alert and attentive: we can pay attention to the design and wording of the online platforms we use. We can look for signs of dark patterns, such as countdown timers, pop-up messages, pre-selected options, hidden costs, or misleading language. We can also read the fine print, terms and conditions, privacy policies, or reviews before we agree to anything.
• Be critical and skeptical: we can question the validity and reliability of the information and offers that we see online. We can compare prices, features, benefits, and drawbacks of different products or services. We can also seek out alternative sources of information or opinions, such as independent reviews, ratings, or recommendations.
• Be assertive and selective: we can resist the pressure or temptation to act impulsively or emotionally online. We can take our time to make informed and rational decisions that align with our goals and values. We can also opt out of unwanted newsletters, notifications, or third-party sharing, or cancel subscriptions or accounts that we don’t use.

How can we combat dark patterns?

Dark patterns are not inevitable or acceptable. They are unethical and harmful practices that should be challenged and eliminated. There are different roles and responsibilities that different stakeholders can play in combating dark patterns. For example:

• Regulators: regulators can enforce laws and regulations that protect consumers’ rights and interests online. They can also issue guidelines and standards that promote ethical and transparent design practices. For example, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US has recently released a report on dark patterns , and has announced plans to crack down on them . Similarly, the European Union (EU) has enacted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) , which requires online platforms to obtain users’ consent before collecting or sharing their data.
• Designers: designers can adopt ethical and user-centered design principles that respect users’ autonomy and agency online. They can also avoid using dark patterns in their design process, and report or reject any requests or pressures to do so. For example, they can follow the Ethical Design Manifesto , which advocates for design that is respectful, honest and beneficial for users. They can also use tools like Ethical Design Handbook , which provides practical tips and examples on how to design ethically and effectively.
• Users: users can raise awareness and voice their concerns about dark patterns. They can also support and reward platforms that use ethical and transparent design practices. For example, they can use websites like Dark Patterns Tip Line , which allows users to report and expose dark patterns they encounter online. They can also use tools like Privacy Badger , which blocks trackers and ads that use dark patterns to collect or share users’ data.

Conclusion

Dark patterns are a serious and widespread problem that affects our online behavior and choices. They can harm our privacy, security, finances, well-being, trust, and confidence. They can also harm the reputation, credibility, compliance, and legality of the platforms that use them. We can protect ourselves from dark patterns by being aware, alert, critical, and assertive online. We can also combat dark patterns by enforcing laws and regulations, adopting ethical design principles, and raising awareness and voice our concerns. By doing so, we can create a more fair, honest, and respectful online environment for everyone.

If you enjoyed this article, please visit my medium blog for more insights and interesting reads. I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this topic. Thank you for reading! 😊

List of Refs used:

- Brignull, H. (2010). Dark Patterns: Deception vs. Honesty in UI Design. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/dark-patterns/

- Mathur, A., Acar, G., Friedman, M., Lucherini, E., Mayer, J., Chetty, M., & Narayanan, A. (2019). Dark Patterns at Scale: Findings from a Crawl of 11K Shopping Websites. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 3(CSCW), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1145/3359183

- Federal Trade Commission. (2021). FTC Staff Report Examines How Online Platforms Use Dark Patterns to Mislead Consumers. Retrieved from https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/04/ftc-staff-report-examines-how-online-platforms-use-dark-patterns

- Federal Trade Commission. (2021). Bringing Dark Patterns to Light: How to Make the Internet Less Deceptive. Retrieved from https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events-calendar/bringing-dark-patterns-light-how-make-internet-less-deceptive

- European Union. (2018). General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Retrieved from https://gdpr-info.eu/