Dark Patterns: What They Are and How to Avoid Them

In an age of internet and globalization, where online interactions have become an inseparable part of our daily lives, users increasingly find themselves the target of subtle manipulation designed to influence their decisions. Have you ever wondered why you're getting a newsletter from company X, even though you don't recall ever signing up for it? Or wanted to dismiss a cookie banner, only to realize after clicking a button that you'd just given your consent without meaning to? Or, worse still - wanted to cancel a subscription to some service, only to find the process needlessly convoluted and unclear?

This is what's known as "dark patterns" - the use of practices that benefit companies or online service providers at the user's expense. How do you recognize these practices, and how do you defend against them? How can you make sure your own website doesn't contain manipulative tactics like these? In this article, we'll dig into what dark patterns really are, look at examples of how they're used, and cover the consequences that come with using them.

Article summary

Dark patterns, or manipulative UX techniques, are unfair design tactics used in user interfaces to influence consumer decisions. They exploit inattention and lack of awareness on the user's part, and often lean on psychological mechanisms as well. According to Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), using dark patterns can be treated as a violation of collective consumer interests and competition law, leading to financial penalties. Many users aren't even aware that manipulative UX practices exist, which makes educating them important.

What are dark patterns?

Dark patterns - also known as manipulative UX techniques - are deliberate design choices intended to influence consumer decisions in an unfair or misleading way. In these cases, the user experience is shaped from the top down, aiming to benefit the company or online service provider. For example, these practices are used to:

• Push users into taking a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter.
• Obtain consent for marketing communications, or to collect data.
• Hide important information, such as additional costs.
• Make it harder to cancel a service or subscription.

The term was first coined by Harry Brignull in 2010, a UX expert who created the Deceptive Design website to shed light on the problem and educate people about this form of manipulation.

The scale of the problem is enormous - according to UOKiK research, out of 642 websites and mobile apps examined, more than 75% contained at least one dark pattern! You may well have already run into some of the following:

Examples of dark patterns

Cookie consent

Websites often use manipulative patterns to push users into consenting to data collection. For example, a large, prominent "Accept" button next to a "Reject" option that's hidden or hard to find.

Collecting personal data

Mobile apps or online services request broad permissions that aren't actually needed for their core functionality, such as access to contacts or location.

Making it hard to delete an account

Social networks and other platforms often require multiple steps to delete an account, which discourages users from actually going through with it.

Automatic subscription renewal

With unclear terms and conditions, subscriptions can be automatically renewed, while the cancellation process is made complicated.

Dark patterns are especially common in e-commerce, where every consumer decision can translate directly into profit or loss for the business. Common practices include:

Hidden fees

At checkout, users discover additional costs, such as shipping fees or taxes, that weren't clearly presented earlier in the process.

Difficult subscription cancellation

The process for canceling a service is deliberately complicated. For example, cancellation might require multiple steps or contacting customer support directly.

Forced consent

Forms require consent to marketing or other terms as a condition for using the basic service.

False time pressure

Messages like "Offer valid today only!" or "Only 3 items left in stock," while not always accurate, put pressure on users to make a quick decision.

A hard-to-find "Close" button

When pop-ups or ads appear, the option to close them is deliberately hard to see or placed somewhere hard to reach.

As you can see, dark patterns lurk around nearly every corner for users! So why have they become so widespread?

Why companies use dark patterns

Dark patterns work because they exploit a lack of consumer awareness or knowledge (not everyone knows exactly what cookies are or why they're needed), and often lean on psychological mechanisms - influencing emotions or using color in a deliberate way. Companies choose to use dark patterns for several reasons:

1. Maximizing profit

Dark patterns let companies influence consumer decisions in ways that boost sales, subscriber counts, or other financial metrics. One example is pre-selection - a checkbox already ticked to opt in to, say, a newsletter during checkout.

2. Retaining customers

By making it harder to cancel or unsubscribe from a service, companies can artificially maintain their customer base and keep revenue flowing. Retaining subscribers is especially important for subscription-based services, including streaming platforms.

3. Holding the user's attention

In other words, this is about getting the user to spend as much attention and time as possible on the company's site, service, or app. This is achieved through autoplaying content or infinite scroll.

4. Competitive advantage

In a highly competitive environment, companies may use dark patterns to gain an edge over other players in the market, even at the expense of ethics.

5. Exploiting a lack of consumer knowledge

Some companies count on consumers not noticing manipulative techniques, or not having the time or means to react to them. A user under time pressure, or just trying to "quickly check something online," will try to shorten their journey to the bare minimum - making them more likely to click through consent prompts or other buttons.

And the result? Much like the dark patterns themselves, it's hard to notice - until something unpleasant happens, like an unwanted subscription charge, extra fees, or - perhaps most costly of all - handing over your data, which (horror of horrors) could leak if the site or service in question is hit by a hacking attack.

The consequences of using dark patterns

Dark patterns lead to frustration and erode trust in a brand. Consumers who discover manipulative practices may stop using a company's services and warn others away from its products. Using dark patterns can seriously damage a company's reputation, especially in the age of social media, where negative reviews spread quickly.

UOKiK is watching - and issuing fines

Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) actively fights unfair market practices, dark patterns included. According to UOKiK, using dark patterns can be treated as a violation of collective consumer interests and competition law. Examples of violations include:

• Lack of transparency around pricing.
• Misleading consumers about the terms of a promotion.
• Making it difficult to access consumer rights, such as returns or complaints.

Using dark patterns carries long-term consequences. Companies that rely on them expose themselves to class-action lawsuits and other legal consequences. Regulators such as UOKiK, or international bodies, can impose steep fines on companies that use unfair practices - in 2022, UOKiK fined a company for using manipulative practices in its online store, such as concealing important information about shipping costs and promotions. The fine came to 700,000 PLN!

How can you protect yourself from dark patterns?

Avoid time pressure

Don't make purchasing decisions under time constraints that might be artificially manufactured. The same goes for any other supposed benefit, such as "exclusive" deals available only for a limited time when signing up for a newsletter.

Stay alert

Pay attention to subtle signals, such as hidden buttons or unclear messaging. Identify elements that might be steering your actions on a site.

Read the terms and conditions

Although it can be time-consuming, it's worth paying attention to the details in terms of service and privacy policies.

Check other people's opinions

Before making a purchase, check reviews of the company and its practices online.

Summary

Dark patterns are unethical practices that can harm consumers and undermine trust in businesses. It's important to be aware they exist and to learn how to recognize them. At the same time, it's worth supporting the efforts of regulators like UOKiK, which work to protect consumer interests and promote fair market practices.

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