Dark Pattern Research from Lior Strahilevitz and Jamie Luguri, ’19, Cited in ‘Consumer Reports’

Your Smart Devices Are Trying to Manipulate You With ‘Dark Patterns’

If you’re looking for a free movie or show on an Amazon Fire TV, you might have to navigate an obstacle course.

A good chunk of the platform’s home screen is devoted to content that’s available only if you pay $139 a year for a Prime subscription. Even though it only takes a second or two to scroll past the rows of subscriber-only options, their top-shelf placement turns every movie search into a subtle nudge to sign up for a Prime account.

Experts call designs like these “dark patterns” because they can push users toward decisions they might not otherwise make, such as signing up for an expensive subscription.

At first glance, many dark patterns seem like mere annoyances. One common trick, for example, is to display a preselected check box that subscribes you to marketing email unless you untick it. Worst case outcome: more spam email.

But under the mildly irritating surface, there’s potential for real harm. Nudges toward pricey subscriptions or away from options to keep your data private help companies make money at your expense.

>>>>

New Rules to Curb Dark Patterns

When dark-pattern prompts are stacked on top of each other, the pull on consumers can be even stronger than when they appear individually, according to the Federal Trade Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.

The stacking effect was on display in a 2021 study in which researchers at the University of Chicago made up an identity protection service and offered it to three groups of online survey takers. The three cohorts were solicited using no dark patterns, a handful of mild dark patterns, and several additional aggressive dark patterns. They found that compared with the no-dark-pattern group, the mild nudging doubled signup rates and the additional aggressive pushes quadrupled them.

Read more at Consumer Reports