A hot potato: The unsavory practice of using manipulative website design, known as dark patterns, to coerce people into making specific choices is worryingly popular. According to an FTC study that examined hundreds of subscription websites and apps, over three-fourths employ these dark patterns to influence consumers into buying subscriptions and products or jeopardizing their privacy.
The FTC writes that the analyses looked at 642 websites and apps offering subscription services. It was discovered that 76% used at least one dark pattern and almost 67% used more than one.
The research, carried out by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) and the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN), identified sneaking practices as the most common form of dark patterns. This involves hiding or delaying the disclosure of information that might affect a consumer's purchase decision. It also covers interface design that obscures important information or presents options in a way that directs customers into making certain decisions that benefit the business. Examples of this interface interference include pre-selecting options or presenting expensive products more prominently.
It was also found that 81% of the apps do not include the option to turn off automatic subscription renewals during the purchase process.
The GPEN companion report, which examined more than 1,000 websites and apps, found that 89% had lengthy and confusing privacy policies, factors that stop many people from reading them. Furthermore, 42% used emotionally charged language to influence user decisions. This "confirmshaming" uses manipulative language such as "I don't want to miss out on this great deal, subscribe me." Elsewhere, 57% made the least privacy-protective option the most obvious and easiest for users to select.
The irritating practice of repeatedly asking people if they are sure they want to cancel their account/subscription was used by 35% of sites. 40% made it difficult to find privacy settings or delete accounts, and 9% made users disclose more personal information when attempting to delete their account.
The FTC has been going after companies that use dark patterns in recent years, including Amazon, which it sued over "deceptive" Prime subscription tactics. Adobe has also been accused by the FTC of harming consumers by enrolling them in its default, most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing important plan terms.
Masthead: Daniel Martinez
FTC study reveals widespread use of dark patterns by subscription websites and apps
