Dark Pattern, Meaning, Guidelines, Latest News

Q: What are dark patterns?

Dark patterns are deceptive design tactics that trick online users into making choices that may not be in their best interest.

Q: What is the primary purpose of dark patterns?

To mislead users into doing something they did not originally intend or want to do.

Q: How do dark patterns manipulate users?

By leveraging the way people process information to nudge them toward specific decisions.

Q: What is drip pricing?

A dark pattern where additional costs are revealed only after the user has begun the purchase process.

Q: What is false urgency?

A dark pattern that creates fake deadlines or stock shortages to pressure users into making quick decisions.

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Dark Patterns Latest News

Indian consumers are losing an estimated ₹25,000 crore to ₹28,000 crore annually due to deceptive interface designs, commonly known as dark patterns, across online marketplaces, according to a recent report.

About Dark Patterns

Dark patterns, also known as deceptive patterns, are deliberate design tactics that trick online users into making choices that aren’t always in their best interest.
They are designed to mislead users to do something they originally did not intend or want to do.
The term was coined by Harry Brignull in 2010.
At their core, dark patterns exploit cognitive biases. They leverage the way our brains process information to nudge us toward specific decisions, often against our best interests.
Dark patterns take many forms, and different sources may categorize them in various ways.
Each is designed to manipulate users into making choices that benefit the company rather than the user.
These deceptive design tactics can pop up across websites, forms, emails, and apps.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority notified the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns in 2023 and specified 13 dark patterns, namely
- False urgency, Basket Sneaking, Confirm shaming, forced action, Subscription trap, Interface Interference, Bait and switch, Drip Pricing, Disguised Advertisements and Nagging, Trick Wording, Saas Billing and Rogue Malwares.
For example, drip pricing is when extra costs appear after the user has started the purchase process.
False urgency: Dark patterns sometimes invent deadlines or stock shortages, sometimes known as scarcity cues, to exploit a fear of missing out, pressuring users into quick decisions without taking the time to think through the purchase.
Basket Sneaking: This is when extra products or services are added to a user’s shopping cart without their explicit consent.
Subscription Trap: This dark pattern is the common case of making it substantially harder to cancel a subscription than it was to start the subscription in the first place.