Are you encouraging dark patterns in your application?

A software dark pattern is a user interface design element or technique used in digital products and websites with the intent of manipulating or deceiving users into taking actions they may not want to take or making decisions that benefit the developer or business behind the software, often at the expense of the user's interests.

Dark patterns are unethical and can erode trust between users and software providers. They often exploit cognitive biases, emotions, or user confusion to achieve their goals. Dark patterns can lead to negative consequences for users, such as financial loss, privacy violations, and frustration.

Here are ten common examples of dark patterns found on the internet or web pages.

? Hidden Costs: When a website or app hides additional fees or charges until the user is deep into the checkout process, making it difficult to compare prices or opt out of extra charges.

? Sneak into Basket: Automatically adding items to a user's shopping cart without their explicit consent, often with the goal of increasing sales.

? Misleading Defaults: Setting options that benefit the business as the default choice, hoping that users won't notice or change them. For example, opting users into newsletters by default during the registration process.

? Misdirection: Using design elements to distract users from their intended actions, such as making "Cancel" buttons hard to find or read, or obscuring unsubscribe links.

? Roach Motel: Making it easy for users to get into a subscription or service but incredibly difficult to cancel or unsubscribe. This often involves multiple steps, hidden options, or long waiting times on customer service lines.

? Forced continuity: This dark pattern tricks users into signing up for a subscription or recurring payment plan without their full knowledge or consent. For example, a company might offer a free trial of a service, but require users to enter their credit card information to sign up. Once the trial period ends, the company will start charging the user's credit card, even if they forget to cancel the subscription. They won't even send you a reminder, as promised, before the trial period expires.

? Pre-checked boxes: This dark pattern involves pre-checking boxes for optional products or services during the checkout process. This can lead users to accidentally sign up for things they don't want or need.

? Privacy zuckering: This dark pattern involves tricking users into sharing more personal information than they intended. For example, a company might ask users to provide their social media login information to create an account, even if it's not necessary.

? Confirmshaming: Guilt-tripping users into making a particular choice by using manipulative language in confirmation dialogues, like "No, I don't care about saving money."

? Bait and Switch: Advertising a product or service at a low price or with appealing features but then making it difficult or impossible to obtain that offer once the user is engaged.

The consequences of having dark patterns in your software can be significant and negative. Some of the consequences are,

? Loss of Trust: Dark patterns can erode trust between users and your brand or platform, leading to a damaged reputation and decreased user loyalty.

? User Frustration: Users who feel tricked or manipulated are likely to become frustrated, leading to a poor user experience and potentially negative word-of-mouth.

? Legal and Regulatory Issues: Sometimes, dark patterns may violate consumer protection laws and regulations, resulting in legal consequences and fines.

? Reduced Engagement: Users who encounter dark patterns may be less likely to engage with your platform or complete desired actions, such as making purchases or signing up for services.

? Long-Term Harm: Employing dark patterns may provide short-term gains, but in the long run, it can damage your brand's reputation and lead to a loss of loyal customers.

? Ethical Concerns: Dark patterns raise ethical questions about the values and principles of your organization, potentially causing employees to question the company's integrity.

TikTok had contravened GDPR by placing child users’ accounts on a public setting by default. Apparently, TikTok didn’t sufficiently disclose these privacy risks to kids and also used dark patterns to guide users toward giving up more of their personal information. Source - https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/15/tech/tiktok-fine-europe-children/index.html

To maintain a positive user experience and build trust with your users, it's essential to avoid using dark patterns in your software and instead focus on transparent, user-centric design practices.

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