An overview of the Dark Patterns designers should avoid
Users hate them. They’re bad for business. Don’t think of short term profits.
A few days ago, after closely looking at my credit card statement, suddenly a small unrecognizable charge appears. I don’t even have a clue where this came from. After hours of investigation into my emails and online accounts, it looked like I accidentally signed up for a service.
I imagine that it happens to the best of us. It might have been because of an unnoticed pre-marked checkmark or because there was a promotion on the service which tricked me. Ever wondered what these tactics are called? Yes,
Dark Patterns can be defined as tricks used in websites and apps that make people do things that they didn’t mean to, like making a purchase or signing up for something.
We see these on all the interfaces, where there is a miss in the sense of ethics and responsibility. It was in 2010 when a London based UX Designer Harry Brignull coined the term ‘Dark Patterns’ and he runs a website called Darkpatterns.org — which is focused on spreading awareness and discouraging the dark patterns and practices.
In 2015, LinkedIn lost a lawsuit for $13 million USD.
The company was found guilty of using its users’ contact lists for personal gain. This is regards to it’s Add to Network feature which was intended to add people to the network seamlessly. Instead, LinkedIn started sending several similar follow-up emails without saying it would do so in its terms of service
Bait and Switch
Advertising the product as something it is not such as making the product seem more attractive in the advertisement than it actually is.
Example: Facebook here shows you a notification as a friend request whereas it is really a friend suggestion.
Intentional Misdirection
This pattern is used by companies when they want to mislead the users to select options that will result in more business or profit to the company.
Below is an example of Travel Insurance on an airline website, where the users are misguided to select a country to pay for the insurance even though it is not mandatory.
Confirm Shaming
This is usually an act of making the user feel guilty about opting into something. They use copy such that the option to decline is to shame the user into signing up or subscribing.
Roach Motel
This way of marketing or design is seen when a website or app makes it hard for the users to opt-out, such as deleting an account or unsubscribing from a mailing list. This also includes confusing copy like shown in the image where you are automatically subscribed to an offer and the checkbox is used to decline the subscription rather than opting for a subscription.
Download Ads
A very old pattern still being used now where the real download button or link is mixed up with buttons that will give you malware. You often see them on video streaming or file download websites.
Segmented Unsubscribe
Some websites use this pattern where they divide the unsubscribe lists into groups and the users have to click on each of these to unsubscribe from all which frustrates the users and they give up.
Price Comparision Hiding
This pattern is used by companies/ subscription-based services where they do not show the specific prices for available plans and because of this the users cannot compare and fail to make make an informed decision that is best for them.
Sneak into the Cart
This is commonly seen on online shopping portals when you are at the final stage of the checkout, an item is automatically added to the cart which is usually a bag/mug/10 % donation, etc., This is commonly seen in mobile devices, as there is a less real estate and it is easily overlooked before the payment.
Forced Continuity
This is one of the most popular with products that offer a lucrative initial trial, gathers the user's credit card details at the signup stage in order to begin the trial. Most of the time after the trial is complete, there would be no reminder or notification and the companies automatically begin charging.
The impact of the dark patterns is felt everywhere and there was a bill passed in the Senate called ‘‘Deceptive Experiences To Online Users Reduction Act’’ or the ‘‘DETOUR Act’’.
There are many more dark patterns in addition to the ones mentioned above. Companies implement these by mistake or for profits. Removing these from their interfaces involves some work but it can definitely be done.
Companies and designers should think of long term qualitative values such as brand image, trust, and credibility when compared to quantitive short term profits.
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