Book coming soon!

Deceptive patterns –exposing the tricks that tech companies use to control you

By Harry Brignull

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The book "Deceptive Patterns" by Harry Brignull, on a coffee table.

Table of contents

This is subject to change, as the manuscript is currently being edited.

1. Diving into the murky world of deception: an introduction
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  • A primer on design industry terminology
  • The rise of deceptive patterns
  • From homo economicus to homo manipulable
2. The adversarial mindset: unravelling the principles behind deceptive patterns
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  • Exploitation of vulnerabilities in perception
  • Exploitation of vulnerabilities in comprehension
  • Exploitation of vulnerabilities in decision-making
  • Resource depletion and pressure
  • Forcing and blocking
  • Exploitation of emotional vulnerabilities
  • Exploitation of addiction
3. Taxonomies of trickery: dissecting the various types of deceptive pattern
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  • Introducing the Mathur et al. taxonomy of dark patterns
  • Sneaking
  • Urgency
  • Misdirection
  • Social proof
  • Scarcity
  • Obstruction
  • Forced action
  • Other types
4. Ending the deceptive era: how can we stamp it out?
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  • Deceptive patterns are more prevalent now than ever before
  • We’ve tried things that haven’t worked
  • Why regulation is the answer
5. The road ahead: envisioning a fairer future
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  • Changes ahead in the United States
  • Changes ahead in the European Union
  • Persuasion profiling and second generation deceptive patterns
  • The risk of a cyberpunk future
6. Concluding thoughts in the struggle for honest design
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  • Navigating the slippery slope

Any questions?

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