What are Dark Patterns?

Dark patterns are choices made by designers that are meant to trick, pressure, or manipulate users into making decisions that benefit the company, usually at the expense of the user.

The term dark pattern was first used by UX designer Harry Brignull with the registration of darkpatterns.org to document patterns that rely on psychological manipulation instead of honest design.

Common Types of Dark Patterns

❓Trick Questions

  • phrased in a confusing way to make users accidentally choose “yes”

  • Example: "Uncheck this box if you don’t want to receive emails... unless you actually do, in which case re-check it."

🔄Bait and Switch

  • the user means to do one thing, but something totally different happens
  • Example: In 2016, Microsoft tried to get users to upgrade to Windows 10 by changing the meaning of the red “X” in a pop-up. Instead of closing the window like they thought, clicking the X confirmed the upgrade.

🔀Misdirection

  • using visual hierarchy to take attention away from what the company doesn’t want you to notice
  • Example: A giant colorful “Yes” button and a tiny grayed-out “No thanks” link in fine print.

💰Hidden Costs

  • only shown at the last step of checkout
  • Example: Unexpected fees like shipping, taxes, service fees

⏳Forced Continuity

  • free trial ends → surprise charge

  • Example: Adobe's annual plans involve early termination fees (ETFs) if you cancel after the initial 14-day period. According to Adobe's Subscription Terms "If you cancel within 14 days of your initial order, you’ll be fully refunded. Should you cancel after 14 days, you’ll be charged a lump sum amount of 50% of your remaining contract obligation..."

🧱Disguised Ads

  • ads that look like regular content or navigation

  • Example: Softpedia placed ads with fake “Download” buttons that looked almost exactly like the real ones. Users accidentally clicked the ad, thinking it was the actual download link.

😕Confirmshaming - making the user feel guilty for opting out

  • Example: ✅ “Yes, I want to save money.” ❌ “No thanks, I like wasting money.”

🪤The Roach Motel

  • looks easy to get into, but hard to get out of
  • Example: Subscribing to a service takes 1 click. Cancelling requires a phone call or an email.

🔓Privacy Zuckering

  • tricking users into sharing more personal data than they realize
  • Named after Mark Zuckerberg, this pattern can also make it harder for users to find and change their privacy settings.
  • Example: A website may make users navigate through multiple pages or menus to get to their privacy settings, making it less likely that they would

🛒Sneak into Basket

  • an extra product or service is automatically added to the cart unless you notice and remove it
  • Example: In 2015 SportsDirect.com was caught automatically adding a £1 magazine subscription to carts during checkout. Most people didn’t notice and had to remove it manually to avoid the charge.

Legality

Many types of deceptive patterns are illegal in the United States and Europe, and companies that use them have been in legal cases where they faced large fines and penalties.

In 2022, the company behind Fortnite Epic Games paid $245 million to settle charges from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for using "dark patterns to trick users into making purchases" in their payment system such as:

  • Misdirection - confusing button layouts that could lead to accidental purchases with one click
  • Roach Motel - difficulty cancelling or reversing charges
  • Sneak Into Basket/Forced Action - ability to make unauthorized charges without parental consent

In 2023, TikTok was fined €345 million by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) for violations of Art. 5 GDPR relating to the processing of personal data. Their design choices were found to be manipulative and misleading, especially for children by:

  • Preselection - setting profiles to "public" by default, even for minors
  • Visual Interference - highlighting certain buttons like "Post Now" in bold colors to draw attention but making privacy options less noticeable
  • Forced Action - making it harder to opt out of sharing data

Why to Aviod Dark Patterns

Unethical – they exploit the user's trust and take advantage of them

Breaks Trust – users who feel tricked can be less likely to return

Legal Risk – regulators are now cracking down and the consequences can be expensive

Bad UX – manipulative design could have short-term benefits for the company but can lead to poor long-term user experience

⭐ Good design respects the user’s time, intent, and intelligence.

Sources