Dark Patterns

March 2, 2020 · by · in

People respond well to patterns. In fact, our brains are wired to look for patterns in order to help us make choices faster and process our interactions with the world in ways that can be applied for future use. This can be very important in the always-busy, mindless task-completing society we live in. At the same time repetitive tasks or patterns in an interface can make it much easier to oversee key decisions and make choices with unintended consequences, based on the color, location, and phrasing of buttons or text. You may have encountered this scenario before when looking for the exit “x” button that’s always at the top right corner of a pop up, and clicking there only to find that the button was somewhere else. Now you’re in a new tab reading some company’s generic blog post that’s trying to get you to sign up for their mailing list. Wonderful.

For UX designers, dark patterns are something to be cautious of, as one could easily and unintentionally design something that is misleading. However, by definition dark patterns are used to take advantage of a user.  When a company or organization wants a user to pick one task over the other, they may use patterns such as misleading button locations and colors to trick the user into selecting something they may not have actually wanted. These are examples of what have been coined “Dark Patterns” by Harry Brignull, and they appear more often than you may think.

While some companies may implement these dark patterns in much more obvious ways, one interesting case happened between 2011 and 2014, when LinkedIn used inaccurate phrasing to mislead users into giving them access to all of the contact information in their email address books. The phrasing of a certain introduction page led to a very misleading chain of events when “get started by adding your email address”, really meant, “give us your email address so we can import your address book”. Another thoroughly confusing button said “add to network” when in reality it meant “send emails to these people to invite them to LinkedIn”. This mistake, as well as the several unsolicited emails they sent, landed them in a $13 million law suit in 2015. It’s important to be cautious when interacting  with websites regardless of their trustworthy reputation, for even a website for professionals like LinkedIn is guilty of abusing dark patterns. More importantly, UX designers and researchers in charge need to make it a priority to balance of the company’s goals and the user’s best interest with their ux solutions.

A screenshot of a pop-up that only offers two options, one that guilts you into doing something and one that encourages you to do so.

Another example of dark pattern was done by Joanna Weib in her Copy Hackers post on attracting email subscribers. Her example of a new and exciting UX tactic is actually a dark pattern in disguise, otherwise known as confirm-shaming. This is when you present a user an option to opt in or out of something, but make the opt-out button display a message that suggests  feelings of loss or shame. In her article she conveys that as long as the phrasing isn’t mean, it’s perfectly ok to use this tactic to get subscribers. This is a great example of how a dark pattern may seem like a normal UX practice; a UX blog even condones it. Some other dark pattern tactics to look out for are “roach motels”, “hidden costs”, and “bait and switch”. A roach motel situation is when a website or company makes it easy to sign up for something, but very difficult to get out of it. Hidden costs are pretty plain and simple, which is when a price is advertised but doesn’t include the various required fees involved until after check out. For example, some university students could be surprised by additional course fees and costs that weren’t listed with the tuition. Bait and switch is when a user does one thing and ends up with a completely different outcome than desired.

It may be daunting to think of how such simple phrasing could wreak havoc on a company, but it’s an important lesson to keep in mind for UX researchers and designers. Repetition and phrasing matters. In her book 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, Susan Weinschenk notes that, “experience causes physical changes in our brain. In a few seconds new circuits are formed that can forever change the way we think about something or remember information”, or in other words, “repetition physically changes the brain”. The organization and display of content plays a large impact on how people interact with it. Therefore, it’s not only important to be mindful of misleading information or practices for the user’s experience sake, but also for the potential long-term repercussions on a brand’s image and reputation.

In the end, this all comes down to following the best practices of user experience, and keeping them at the forefront of decision making without construing them for the benefit of the company. Know who your audience is, what they want, and how you’re able to give it to them in a clear and concise manner. Make things easier for them to find by utilizing less steps, not more. Having a good relationship with the users and keeping them happy will benefit everyone in the long run, as people who feel they can trust a brand will be more likely to stick with them.

If you’re interested in reading more about different kinds of dark patterns or want to see real life examples by companies, darkpatterns.org has more information:

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