DARK PATTERNS

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• Some Internet-based establishments have been misleading users into consenting to certain conditions or clicking a few links. Such clicks are watering the users' inboxes with promotional emails they never wanted and making it hard to unsubscribe. These are examples of “dark patterns,” also known as “deceptive patterns.”

     ●   Dark patterns are unethical user interface designs that gradually make the users' Internet experience harder and sometimes even exploit users, but it benefits the business or platform employing the designs.

             ○  By utilising dark patterns, digital platforms take away users’ right to get full information about the services they are using and their control over their browsing understanding.

• Social media companies and Big Tech firms such as Apple, Amazon, Skype, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Google use dark patterns to downgrade the users' experience for their business advantage.
  • Amazon came under fire in the EU for its confusing, multi-step cancelling process for Amazon Prime subscriptions.
  • Social media users often receive sponsored messages from influencers. Disabling this option is a difficult process with multiple steps that require users to be familiar with the platform controls.
  • Google-owned YouTube nags users to sign up for YouTube Premium with pop-ups, obscuring the final seconds of a video with thumbnails of other videos — a way of disrupting what should have been an otherwise smooth user experience.
• Dark patterns threaten the experience of Internet users and make them more vulnerable to financial and data exploitation by Big Tech firms.
  • It confuses users, introduces online obstacles, makes simple tasks time-consuming, has users sign up for unwanted services/products, and force them to pay more money or share more personal information than they intended.
• Internet users who could identify and recognize dark patterns can select more user-friendly platforms that will respect their right to choose and privacy.

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