Deceptive patterns –exposing the tricks that tech companies use to control you
By Harry Brignull
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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
- 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
- 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
- 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?
- 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
- 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
- Navigating the slippery slope