Hall of shame

@nntaleb Just saw this today. Tesla refunds in general should be easy to get electronically \& certainly through customer service. Will he addressed.

Elon @elonmusk, your Customer Support at Tesla is even worse than I claimed last time. It is an insult to your customers.

On the @NewYorker's site, there's a cookie setting literally called "Sell My Personal Information". If you disable it, it will auto-enable itself when you use the CTA to close the window! Absolutely egregious disregard for ethical UX.

I hate stuff like this, came across this one recently on @WishShopping. Also important to note, this only, modal comes up after you submit a form of checkboxes, where the last box resubscribes you to a weekly drip campaign

So, @outlook/@Microsoft wants me to manually un-check like 100 companies if I don't want them collecting my data... #privacy

Plusnet with their intentionally confusing language.

WTF @ICICIBank, why would I need life cover while transferring funds to a friend!

A signup window for ClickUp says: 'Save 26 days per year. We analyzed the time saved by over 4,000 teams after switching to ClickUp. That's 624 hours back!' Underneath, the button for not signing up is labelled 'No, I want to waste 26 days'

Hey @RevolutApp. What's with the confusing, blatant dark pattern messaging here when I go to toggle targeted marketing? Why MUST you be so sneaky? Why? Why?

Check out this gem. Change in standard answer, followed by double negative content.

Textbook example of @darkpatterns in Europe: @BogdanCovrig & I visited this webshop from three different browsers & they seem to personalize their timers to the specific browser call. No math.random(), but still curious. Days don’t change, just minutes & seconds.

stop making people jump through the hoop! make these processes simple and straightforward!

One of the worst @darkpatterns I ever came across: Press allow notifications to verify that you are not a robot. When you decline it even redirects you to a different subdomain and asks you again.

See this #darkpattern all the time in cookie banners: the primary action is not 'confirm', but 'select + confirm all'

One of the many reasons I’m leaving @EE - pulling @darkpatterns like this. Go to buy more data (extortionately priced), choose “One-off” and a pop-up appears with “Monthly Recurring” as the prominent, highlighted option. Now I have to waste my time working out how to cancel…

Dark Pattern Games is a review site that analyses the Dark Patterns used by different games. It has a voting system and is meticulously put together.

In this series of in-depth articles, Investigative journalist Justin Elliott looks into the various manipulative and deceptive techniques that Intuit allegedly used in their Turbotax software.

Ok this is really funny, check this out. I was in the process of booking a flight via @OneTravel. Trying to make me book ASAP, they claimed: "38 people are looking at this flight". Whoa

On log in, you either accept marketing emails or cancel which logs you out. No way to opt out here. That’s not good UX @Gumtree #darkpattern

This #darkpattern pops up from time to time in the @Citi @Citibank mobile app. There's no way to dismiss the initial pop up, and when you try to say No Thanks on the next screen, you must confirm you're not interested.

@Touchnote has this gem on their pricing comparison page. One option is marked as "best value". The selected item promises $19.80 of savings. But...they are all the same price?

Hello @IKEAUK, this is from your self-service POS terminal. I don’t want to enter my post code, where am I supposed to press ‘No Thanks’ ?

You know what @NDTVFood, this doesn't give the greatest impression of your site.

check out this cursed shit i found on this site. it tells you to allow notifications to verify if your a human with a fake captcha. i only have seen the beyond burger site do this.

in Eventbrite's last step when you register for tickets. 'Go To My Tickets' not only signs you up for email marketing but it's already opt-in for you. Sneaky + interfering the interface.

Example of @darkpatterns. The page I wanted to view is hidden by an overlay asking permission to show a popup. I don't want that, but my only options are 'yes' and 'not now, maybe later'. Where is the 'no', @buienradar?

Shame on @Quora for implementing a dark pattern that forces me to download their app without an option to exit this horrible popup

Nice @darkpatterns here @meteofrance: “j'accepte” doesn't save the current settings, it turns everything on and exits. To keep the selected settings you have to chose “je valide mes choix”

Hey @Grammarly, kinda shitty UX trying to hide the button to cancel my subscription.

What a mischievous technique to trick people into giving in all the data by accidentally clicking the wrong click of action.

The check-in process in @vueling hiding so many @darkpatterns to fool the passengers taking services we don't want as 'prioritary boarding

Yet another example of @darkpatterns, this time found on @coursera. You cannot just decline, it's "now" or "later"...

CBS makes it exceptionally difficult for users to cancel their premium subscription.

Hey @contactsplus you’re joining the @darkpatterns army!

Deleting your TripAdvisor account? It's more complex than destroying a ring Did you notice that "back" button that looks like a submit one? Well it took me 3 times to realize I was always going backwards instead of deleting my account

This sadly looks like a @darkpatterns from @gitlab 2019 Global Developer Report: DevSecOps

@usertesting the sadly ironic sales experience for visitors on your site is disappointing. No prices + minimal info on the pricing page = informed decision? Then chatbot that asks an unanswerable question & forces me to give email address/name before asking more.

"This article provides the first public evidence of the power of dark patterns. It discusses the results of the authors’ large-scale experiment in which a representative sample of American consumers were randomly assigned to a control group, a group that was exposed to mild dark patterns, or a group that was exposed to aggressive dark patterns. All groups were told they had been automatically enrolled in an identity theft protection plan, and the experimental manipulation varied what acts were necessary for consumers to decline the plan. Users in the mild dark pattern condition were more than twice as likely to remain enrolled as those assigned to the control group, and users in the aggressive dark pattern condition were almost four times as likely to remain enrolled in the program."

"Do you want it or you want it? The choice is yours." What kind of UX #darkPattern sorcery is this lol...

@Quora, please let me know when you have fixed this very dark example of @darkpatterns. I do not have the app and do not wish to download it. You leave me no other choice than leaving Quora. If that's what you want, so be it.

Really poor @darkpatterns from @AdmiralUK. Sign up for car insurance online, manage account online, get email notification of auto-renewal (which I didn't explicitly sign up for) for a 38% increase in cost. No option to cancel auto-renewal online. Shameful and exploitative.

Another #DarkPattern from @listonic (a grocery list app). They use a blue button to add an item to your grocery list - but that button disappears when you scroll down. Their ad space, however, has a similar blue button plastered to it that's always visible.

Haven't seen this dark pattern before... Hit unsubscribe from an email, then like most people I almost skipped the "why?" part and almost got resubscribed. Car dealerships are still generally bad marketers.

Oof, a masterful dark pattern from @nationalexpress @darkpatterns

@crazyegg You know what users LOVE when they're reading articles? Takeover popups that interrupt them and can't be dismissed. This is some @darkpatterns shenanigans right here.

Frustrating: Can’t turn off @Netflix autoplaying next episode kids’ videos directly on smart TV (must use web interface) Bat-Sh*t Infuriating: @Netflix apparently CAN’T disable autoplay for KIDS profiles (only adult ones)? Shame on you.

I have no idea if analytics cookies are turned on or off. This obviously is not what 'good' looks like.

OK, so let's "continue to partners" (there isn't another option anyway). So this screen is now about advertising and tracking. There are 252 partners listed here, with 245 pre-selected. That is a lot of companies who want to know about you. Note the @darkpatterns usage of green.

Tried to redeem a @lionsgate digital movie download code, was forced into accepting spam marketing emails if I wanted to continue.

"'Alexandra from Anaheim just saved $222 on her order' says one message next to an image of a bright, multicolored dress. [...] But “Alexandra from Anaheim” did not buy the dress. She does not exist."

I tried ticking and unticking the boxes—there's no way to permanently say no to both in @MyFitnessPal.

No way to sign out on @smule, an app with millions of downloads. To delete your account, you need to submit a request through their FAQ on their website and fill a super long form. I hate it when apps do this.

This is once a #darkpattern : I have to order the newsletter in order to be able to register with #otto_de

@PressedJuicery Trying to unsubscribe from membership, and this what I get?! If I want to cancel, what button do I push?- You have to work at it to be this bad. #darkpatterns

There’s a dark pattern when you’re browsing @Quora on mobile. You can read an article for a while, but then this pop up shows up. There’s no way to exit out of the pop up without choosing one of these options and they both link to the App Store.

Guess I didn't cancel my @ipsy membership last month. I hope the $10 was worth it. I was planning to take a break for the summer, now I'll never subscribe to ipsy again.

This is a BS dark pattern from @JetBlue. They give the the cheap price of the flight, you enter all your info, then when it comes time to pick a seat, they make it seem like you need to upgrade to make sure you have a seat.

Great @darkpatterns from @Airbnb - The price first displayed is less than half of the actual total. The filter doesn't use the total, so it's useless. The lack of friction helps push people through w/o noticing. Still used AirBnb, but no longer my 1st choice.

Discovered such a shitty dark pattern on @lastminute_com - radio button looks like it’s inactive but in fact you can still press on it. Thumbs down not good, LastMinute.

So apparently, to stop my (online) subscription @lemondefr, I gotta print a paper, fill my data, then send it like a postcard (and pay in the process). Nice

@united doesn't allow you to do web check in unless you download an app and scan your passport. The app collects data it is then able to sell to 3rd parties for their own marketing purposes. Everyone seems eager to get a slice of us...

Holy crap, I had no idea @medium has known about this for years and still not fixed it. So they don't care about blind people?

Medium's signup process is a #darkpattern. It may seem like the only way to create an account is using Facebook/Google, but you can still use email. 1) Go to the "Sign in" page, 2) Click on "Sign in with email", 3) Enter your email, 4) Medium emails you an account creation link.

Square Enix uses trick wording so that some users will unintentionally opt in to marketing communications.

@CitizenApp, via a server enabled "experiment", now ̶a̶s̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ requiring "Always allow" location access. Switching to "When is use" results in not being able to use the app at all

Say it ain't so, Joe. First required field and submit button is to remain in the list. Unsubscribe isn't prepopulated with my email address? That's some #darkpatterns black magic. @darkpatterns

Hey @lucidchart, are you for real? You seriously want to burn those bridges down with those checkmarks, don't you

Try and figure out how to cancel your subscription for @GanttPROcom. Yep it's the little "link" word that has a font-size of 11px and in no way looks like a link. Also, it's mentioned nowhere in their Help Center (which conveniently has no search).

This is @Intuit mailing mngmt. How many dark patterns can you spot? Intentional hiding of "unsubscribe". Double negatives. Check to NOT receive emails but sometimes you actually sign up. And Zuckering – lets you work hard to rid of all their crap.

Finally, I fell in the @darkpatterns by @Sumall Twitter automation tool. Their deactivate account button is gray but the cancellation button (NO, GO BACK.) is green.

Oh hey @Yelp @darkpatterns: “We’ve updated our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy” Click ’OK’ -> banner disappears New policy lets friends ‘check you in’, shares city w/ co’s, adds arbitration clause in ToS PP diff: https://diffchecker.com/IyAWdaAb ToS diff: https://diffchecker.com/Axd8qn4W

"Office Depot and [...] Support.com, were [accused of] falsely informing consumers that their computers were infected with malware and then selling them various fixes for non-existent problems." (Summary from Luguri & Strahilevitz, 2019)

Omg, You kidding @boursorama? When I open a new bank account I find this Pop-up "Do you want to subscribe to our bank insurance?" Wait... where is the cross to close the pop-up? What are the insurance conditions? Seriously it's hidden and only visible in hover...

So angry My mum was wondering where all her iTunes credit was going. I checked her subscriptions “But I deleted that app!” she said. She had no idea this was happening. For months. And just kept putting more money in She bought it because her grandson loves colouring

You can't opt out of this spam from @ThreeUKSupport without signing up to My3.

@gofundme this is very sad... as you can imagine following https://twitter.com/utopiah/status/1099075503955288064 I do NOT want to use not create a new account. Yet this makes it seem like its mandatory. Should @darkpatterns also pitch in?

When in doubt, make a tool that doesn't work (didn't send any of my faxes) and have it be as difficult as possible to cancel a free trial @darkpatterns #darkpatterns There isn't even a numbered option to cancel on the phone system, 15 minutes on hold... awesome.

~a double whammy~ 1) @darkpatterns: trying to unsubscribe from @Delta, are the "program updates" REALLY that important? or you just don't want me to unsub 2) #UX: THESE ARE CHECKBOXES BUT YOU CAN ONLY CHECK ONE THIS IS WHAT RADIO BUTTONS ARE FOR

No "unsubscribe all"? Really @XINGNews?

Horrible experience opening the @cibc iPhone app - multiple @darkpatterns. A forced ad you have to scroll 3 pages down to get past. Then, "No Thanks" is not styled like a button. Makes you double-confirm with reverse-styled buttons. "Go to my accounts" is why I opened the app!

Inverse.com: You have to scroll down from the full screen pop up to decline

To add to this. The 2 additional fees you see at the bottom weren’t shown until after filling out and customizing your order. At the beginning, it said I’d only be paying for shipping.

Next requires users to tick a series of four checkboxes to opt out of marketing communications, but then requires users to leave the fifth checkbox unticked to opt out. If they are not paying close attention, they will opt in by mistake.

Imperial War Museum Duxford hides by default the actual price of their tickets in favour of one including a 'voluntary donation'

Not very happy with @24petwatch. They offer a 30 day trial of their pet insurance policy, but their website has no way to canel the trial. NOT cool

Wow @ultimateguitar, I just plugged my earphones in, and your app, which wasn't even in the foreground, prompted me to give access to my earbuds microphone. Clicking cancel just respawned the dialog. Had no choice but to accept!

#darkpattern from @Snapchat. This form makes it seem like you need to add your email address to be able to complete the form. You don't.

“I can’t think of a single reason why a pair of workout earbuds need access to someone’s menstrual history. We should just call it what it is because, at that point, it doesn’t feel like a transaction anymore. It’s just spying.”

Probably easier to just delete the email than to have to select every single checkbox to unsubscribe hey @flybuys? Or maybe that's the point...

Tumblr account dedicated to examples of confirmshaming.

CodePen circumventing legal "Unsubscribe from mail list" requirements by adding you to 5 separate mail lists.

Epic requires users to tick a box to opt out of emails. if the user does not notice this UI control, they will be automatically opted into emails.

Reddit's mobile site UI has become even more evil. I don't have the app installed, yet it mimics the Android "Open in X or Y" prompt to try and trick you into installing it. Shame.

Tried cancelling my subscription today...

"When Texas’ early voting process started, some people finished filling out their ballot only to see that their choices had been changed — either switched from one party to another, or erased completely. This seemed like a bug at best, or deliberate election tampering at worst."

Reddit makes it's website difficult to use, in an effort to drive users to use their native mobile apps.

Dropdown list is written so that typing “1” enters in “10”, not “1”.

The website asks the user to either wait 20 seconds or click a Google+ “+1” button to prove that they are human. Most users will not want to wait 20 seconds to access the site, so they may click the “+1” for a reason they would normally not.

The button is greyed out but works. To trick you into signing up for spam.

There's no clear option to dismiss the donation screen, only "donate" and "donate later" instead of "yes" and "no". Clicking on "donate later" prompts you to give your email address instead of dismissing the screen.