Hall of shame

A few weeks ago, the FTC accused Amazon of using misleading design features to prevent consumers from cancelling their Prime subscriptions. Let’s break down some of the “dark patterns” the FTC identified:

Here's an example of how a false advertising claim about "limited supply" representations can survive a pleadings challenge: The makers of "Ultra Fast Keto Boost" ran ads claiming a "limited supply" and urging customers to act quickly.

The Threads app almost immediately displayed a whole bunch of dark patterns with its user interface. We spotted at least 11 of them, and we’re sure there are a lot more to come. Here are some highly evident dark tricks the Threads app is using to ensure you stay on the platform as long as you possibly can… and supply Meta with even more data than before.

Apparently you can't delete threads without deleting Instagram. A new form of sludge! @jiayingzhao @R_Thaler @katy_milkman @ideas42 @CassSunstein @stuart_mmills @UofT_BEAR @avicgoldfarb @StephaneCoteTO

Nice "dark pattern" there, @Ubiquiti . In the 'app', i MUST create a cloud account. But if I connect to the console via the browser, I can skip that step.

Dark pattern from @adobe . There’s no option to skip the trial and just use the free version, so the burden is on the user to remember to cancel.

It took over a half an hour of wasted time on the phone with @siriusxmcanada to cancel the other day. Called because of #Overbilling I must have said "please just cancel my account" at least 50 times. Ridiculous.

A lawsuit filed yesterday against Foot Locker accuses the brand of using a "false urgency" dark pattern—claiming items are running out of stock, when they aren't:

If you have a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription, browser links from the Outlook app will open in Microsoft Edge by default”

This is our second dark pattern lawsuit over the last week,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said of the PCH lawsuit in a written statement. “Firms that continue to deploy deceptive design techniques are on notice.

"Yelp sues Google for antitrust violations"

Classic @darkpatterns from @smh this should be illegal. Or, they can ask you to sign up over the phone too!

Complaint PDF here: https://ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/amazon-rosca-public-redacted-complaint-to_be_filed.pdf "Amazon used an internal term called “Iliad” to describe the process, referencing Homer’s epic poem about the Trojan War"

Adore Me lured consumers into their VIP Membership Program without being upfront about the automatic charges and membership terms

Extremely transparent dark patterns @darkpatterns 50% × £17.99 = ...

Dark patterns are everywhere. We just accept them as tools of engagement!

ever tried to stop email notifications on linkedin? did you know it takes a minimum of navigating 64 menus? it is incredibly user-hostile 1/n @darkpatterns

@darkpatterns Not the worst I’ve seen. But still petty

. @darkpatterns from steinberg, makers of cubase: you have to sign up for their newsletter to download any of their products, even the free ones. other audio plugin developers make you sign up for a newsletter for free downloads too. i've never seen anyone else pull this shit.

Check out this level 9000 @darkpatterns on NextDoor

"1/ Hey Hugging Face, NO. You do not have my consent to use my content and personal data to train your AI and ML models. If you believe my consent isn't needed, then I otherwise object. Also, have you deleted the data you obtained from BlueSky"

@windows 10 with another @darkpatterns where it keeps nagging for the user to "finish setting up the PC" when it's more than set up intentionally without an on line account and the screen does NOT have a choice to "not ask this again". Instead it makes you click "remind me later" as if you wanted to be nagged again. Can we stop this, @Microsoft ? It's condescending!

@hangly: your cancellation policy is downright evil. Seriously, couldn't your UX team find any smaller font for that gotcha in your cancellation terms?

Damn if I ever seen a #darkpattern this is it. If you want to decline tracking it claims it takes several minutes and it gives you a huge green button to cancel (=accept tracking).

The wording here (“Update now”) strikes me as something of a ⁦ @darkpatterns ⁩ — it almost implies that the app is out of date, and should just be labelled “Subscribe”. (At least the default option is to dismiss the button.)

For the umpteenth time: NO! Remove this dark pattern! @Microsoft

And I’m sure it’s a coincidence that I can pay over the phone and online but in order to get my money back I have to fax or mail @KPMidAtlantic they have so much incentive to just hoard peoples money. Make it as hard as possible to get your money back. Just scammers and thugs.

Why are you using these annoying dark patterns @StreamOnMax to try to force me to watch trailers? (cc @darkpatterns )

Somehow I accidentally clicked something in Instagram and ended up here. There was no way to exit. The only options were to continue synching with my contacts which I didn’t want to do or read more. I had to swipe close the whole app.

Have you seen this £15 a month for a cash back reward dark pattern being used by Dominos and Papa Johns?

Wow, it only took me 20 minutes of searching and watching youtube videos to find the downgrade button in @NotionHQ . The tiny grayed "see all plans" button really helped. Couldn't believe this happened in 2023, there is no better example of dark patterns @darkpatterns than this.

The truth is, Dynamic Security has nothing at all to do with security, and everything to do with frustrating consumers who choose non-HP cartridges in an effort to improve sales of genuine HP cartridges.

Check out the length of the delay when the user clicks "decline all". This is @StarbucksUK using @TrustArc .

In today's episode of @darkpatterns : Microsoft Edge (of course!) If you click "Manage Settings", you'll note that Personalization & advertising is disabled. If you click the seemingly passive "Got it!", you are telling the browser to CHANGE a setting to benefit MS financially.

Adobe is running the exact same dark pattern, even now. It's just too much free money, at the expense of people who think $54.99/month means $54.99/month, and not "commit to an annual plan and pay 12x$54.99/month (or terminate for a massive penalty)." This should not be legal.

"Windows 11 is such ass why is my work PC giving me pop up suggestions to buy Black Ops 6"

"New: Snapchat is reserving the right to use your own, AI-generated likeness in ads that can then target you. The setting is on by default according to our tests"

"Instagram users under 18 will automatically be subject to limitations on who can message them, how much sensitive content is recommended and who can see their profiles."

"The Meta thing is interesting because users have been vocally opposed to all these tweaks along the way & they have defended each one w/ metrics+engagement. But when theres competition, people are moving. Its a reminder that engagement enjoyment. Wonder what e..."

"I have to accept all cookies in order to unsubscribe from @IBKR marketing emails (and get similar behaviour with the website in general)"

I signed up to @NOW at a reduced price of £5.99 (normally £9.99) as part of a 3 month special offer, Today I decided to cancel my subscription, To dissuade me from cancelling my subscription, @NOW threaten to increase my price for the remainder of my contract to the original £9.99. Ironic that NOW is home to characters like Joker and The Night King, cause this is a perfect example of scum and villainy if I’ve ever seen it. @darkpatterns

Typeform makes it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions. This analysis by growth.design unpacks the issues and provides recommendations.

Dominos and Pizza Hut use deceptive patterns in a confusing system of discount codes and deal finders, subtly overcharging customers.

In an apparent effort to boost email open rates, T-shirt vendor True Classic sent a marketing email with the subject line "Appointment Confirmed...". This is forbidden under the CAM-SPAM act Section 5 (a) (2) "Prohibition of deceptive subject headings".

"Love this deceptive pattern from Microsoft in which they bundle something many want (listing better jobs) with something else few people care about (ads). Are you ready for the same lack of enforcement with DMA consent that we are getting with the GDPR?"

A proposed class action alleges Vimeo automatically renews consumers’ subscription plans without first making certain disclosures required under California law.

Austrian daily newspaper "Der Standard" launched an attempt to circumvent the law: readers had to choose between their data being processed or buying a subscription.

Lazy design or an extra, unnecessary barrier to unsubscribing?

"Fundamental rights cannot be for sale. Are we going to pay for the right to vote or the right to free speech next? This would mean that only the rich can enjoy these rights, at a time when many people are struggling to make ends meet. Introducing this idea in the area of your right to data protection is a major shift. We would fight this up and down the courts" - @maxschrems for @NOYBeu

Dark pattern. Check the “make it monthly” they “helpfully” autocheck for you. Page from the Drumpf playbook. Least it’s in highlight yellow.

The total annual cost was hidden. The 50% cancellation free was hidden. The clickwrap agreement text was much smaller than the sales text (e.g. "£0.00", "Start free trial"). The cancellation terms were hard to find. Should this be permitted?

A screenshot of an unnamed travel website shows numerous dark patterns in use.

"Just seen a @Nike ad on Instagram advertising Air Max Plus for £99.95 on the Nike app. Download the app and they’re “Older Kids” shoes - the adult ones are the usual £164.95. Deffo intentionally misleading - they know what they’re doing"

This appears to be Argos partnering with @completesave.

"For context: following a dialogue with @EU_Commission & national consumer authorities, Amazon agreed to make changes to its Prime cancellation procedure in July 2022"

"@Starbucks @TrustArc proof that it doesn't have to take almost a minute to set client side cookies. In the first run I've crippled the timeout, the second run is stock."

"Wow, solid dark pattern here by Samsung: the option on the bottom —reminiscent of a regular “I have read this” prompt— auto-checks the marketing box as well. This is why people don’t trust brands. Don’t do this to your customers the moment they sign up. All potential trust lost."

This appears to be an example of the IAB's controversial "Transparency and Consent Framework".

"We usually expect a $2000 bill per month from Figma, but in July this year, we got a bill for about $20,000 which came to us as a shock..."

Unlike platform ads (contracts between brands-platforms), native ads often have off-platform supply chains. While platforming the latter might be a transparency gain (esp under DSA registration), here TikTok is just playing with performance indicators. The medium is the message

The FTC accused Credit Karma of “deploying dark patterns” to mislead consumers into believing they were pre-approved and had “90% odds” to coax them into applying for credit cards, according to a news release. Nearly a third of users who applied to the “pre-approved” offers were ultimately denied.

An example of the "hard to cancel" dark pattern.

An example of the "hard to cancel" dark pattern.

Nextdoor UK uses trick wording and misdirection, making it difficult for a user to understand how to unsubscribe.

“Continue without care and repair” - Note how you can’t click the big “continue” unless you buy insurance.

After a user pays for Dominos Pizza (UK), they are shown a deceptive ad that looks like a "Continue" button when in fact it's a monthly subscription plan.

"There’s a spectrum of behavior — some of which is just smart business and tech practices, and some of which is more nefarious. But using the term “dark patterns” to broadly describe anything that we don’t understand, or can’t see that is designed to get you to do something… becomes problematic pretty quickly. "

Do not browse the web in in-app browsers (e.g. in apps like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok). Experience is bad. Those apps also INJECT TRACKING INSTRUCTIONS. They control every interaction, all that is typed, clicked... Browse with normal web browsers.

Nice cookie selection dark pattern from Sedo to start the morning.

"Still raising cash off stealing Top Secret documents."

"How nice of you to hide the unsubscribe link"

The FTC wants Amazon to fork over any disappearing messages that executives used to discuss Prime.The federal agency has been probing Amazon over potentially misleading tactics used to get people to subscribe. Insider reported in March that Amazon execs were worried customers felt tricked into signing up but did nothing.

Wow, didn't know you could pay to continue your broken streak on Duolingo. Not sure how I feel about this.

"Because instant ink bills at the end of each billing cycle, I will receive one final bill for $11.99, plus charges for any additional pages printed. I will lose rollover pages associated with my account."

Luton airport website shows a disguised ad. It appears to be a "continue" button leading on from the checkout, but in fact tricks users into subscribing to a totally unrelated service.

Treatwell uses trick questions - alternating sentiment for its checkbox labels - to trick users into agreeing to emails or tracking.

"Last month we had debit card fraud, where bank sent us new card. [...] Meanwhile, everything Amazon shut down for us. Amazon, Alexa, smart thermometers. Worst of all - the last season of #BetterCallSaul, which I *paid* for."

Noticed my Skype client on the iPad started doing this sneaky crap where when you open the app it presents a prompt that asks you to approve sharing all your contacts w/ Skype. And there's no visible way to say "no."

"this is a gross dark pattern from ⁦@thefarmersdog⁩. you have to affirm the marketing material before you’re allowed to see a price."

'"We use A/B testing to optimize nearly everything related to our products, from new gamification features, to our learning content, to our Super [Duolingo] purchase page design, and even to the notifications that learners receive as reminders to do their lessons," said von Ahn'

"you can't actually drill into and read reviews which makes assessing the actual quality of the restaurant difficult. And I've found that restaurants will run their own "ghost kitchen" shadow restaurant out of their main (poorly rated) location."

"fun lil deceptive UI pattern from (apparently desperate) F*cebook this morning: I updated my phone & shortly after got a push notification from FB - I’ve had those turned entirely off for at least 3-4 years! so I go spelunking in the settings…"

"Such unclear langage is probably not GDPR compliant. What is really happening when I click on “Reject All” and then “Accept”? I hope it’s not a dark pattern to force me to “accept” your cookies."

"AKA “We will automatically uncheck your stated preferences and ruin your experience once a month until we wear you down and you stop manually re-checking them.”"

Gumtree UK provides a "one click" opt-in for ad tracking, yet requires dozens of clicks to opt out.

In this example, Gumtree UK makes it very hard for users to opt out of ad tracking.

"HP at it again: Have to create an account to scan a document."

"LAST CHANCE... We won't email you again." (I got 10 more messages in the next seven hours.) It says I need to "RENEW" a membership I never had in the first place. Fake urgency of final contact to nudge action.

Prices on Wish were personalised, based on location and purchase behaviour. The platform failed to inform its customers about this. Following the ACM's demands the company has decided to end its price personalisation in the EU.

BeyondMenu used the email subject line "Your Friday reservation is confirmed..." - which was likely to alarm users, none of whom had made a reservation. When opened, the email reads "Your reservation is confirmed with your couch... Order now"

In this example, HP does not permit consumers to use the scanner they have purchased until they register a mandatory online account with hp.com. This requires them to provide their name, location, email address and phone number.

BeyondMenu sends a fake reservation confirmation email to consumers, which is likely to alarm them and cause them to open the email, only to find out it's just another marketing email.

"boa página para quem clica em "editar subscrição" no fim do vosso email não solicitado porque tem outras newsletters que quer manter, @expresso" (Portuguese language example).

"Signed up for the @BostonGlobe to read an article. Article was 'meh', so wanted to cancel my sub. Cannot do it online, have to call. The agent tells me: 'You can't cancel the first 24 hours because you'll only show up in the system after...'"

"It's easy to dunk on Adobe software quality, I know. But I hit "Save" in Illustrator and got this hilariously huge cloudsell."

"r/assholedesign - Because nothing comes before profit, especially not the consumer."

"...the changes seem in line with its intention to move away from its original model of photo sharing among friends, to the one pioneered by TikTok: showing as much algorithmically targeted video content as possible and juicing engagement wherever practical."

Udemy employs the 'fake countdown timer' dark pattern.

"The wildest part is that this approach by Apple is actually a concession to appease various antitrust investigations around the world. Instead of rejecting Netflix’s app or forcing them to give Apple 30% at least now Apple just scares users. How gracious."

Professor Jonathan Zittrain replies: "A printer self-bricking after awhile is a great example of 'you think you bought a product, but you really rented a service.'"