Before going into dark patterns, I want to talk about puppetry. Have you been to a puppet show? If so, you would see a puppeteer who has some puppets generally resembling a human or animal figure, and the puppeteer manipulates these inanimate figures and runs a show out of it to make money. This was one of the ancient forms of theater shows.
As such, UX designers need to design for intuitive and usable platforms, but although this has been the trend in UX, we also see designers using manipulative tactics and techniques to make you behave the way they would like you to behave. This aspect is called dark patterns. Like how the puppeteer is steering the joker in the above image, we are also manipulated by designers and companies these days while using their platforms.
One classic example of dark patterns that I want to remind you all of is when Windows was accused of using the “bait and switch” method to make users upgrade to Windows 10.
Here in this image, it is very hard for us to choose not to upgrade, because logically, the CTA’s below should either be “OK” or "CANCEL,” but here both are like OKs. There is a small option link given for users to change or cancel, but the best option is to close the modal all together. YES !! This is the aspect of puppeteering the users with the decisions that are made by companies.
Recently, I bought 5 kg of onions sold on the roadside for a very cheap price. Since the cost was very low, I went and purchased it. The packaging on the outside looked perfect. I checked the onions on the visible outer layer, and they were good. But when I came home and then spread it, to my surprise, I found that at least half a kg of onion in the middle was spoiled or about to be spoiled. It was like a disguised onion fake sale. This can be related to disguised advertisements, which is one of the dark patterns.
Among all these situations with onions and Microsoft, recently I was happy to see a news article informing us that the Indian Government notified a host of guidelines in addressing the regulation of dark patterns. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has banned 13 “dark patterns” on e-commerce platforms. These patterns are designed to deceive or manipulate customers into making unintended purchases or signing up for things they didn’t intend to. The guidelines were issued on November 30, 2023, under Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The 13 dark patterns were: false urgency, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, forced action, subscription trap, interface interference, bait and switch, drip pricing, disguised advertisement, and nagging. I am going to give a small example and solution for some of the dark patterns that are mentioned above, which will help designers do the good by denying the bad. Hopefully !!
1. False Urgency:
When there is a FOMO created for products that are sold online,. Like “There is only one left in stock,” this makes many of the users want to buy the product because of the FOMO that comes along with it.
Solution: Informing the user’s reality is better than just creating a false FOMO for business goals. Giving the users rightfully their needs should be the ethical aspect of a designer.
2. Sneak into the basket:
I have a 3-year-old kid. Whenever we go to a supermarket while we are there for billing, there are always some chocolates or some toys that we haven’t taken into our cart that will be there for billing, which my son would have snuck into the cart. This, in the digital sense in a more business-oriented way, is called Sneak into the Basket.
I see this aspect a lot on Zomato. There is this Feed India foundation, which Zomato always sneaks into my basket without my permission. This option should not have already been checked. It must be non-checked, and I must select it before checking out.
Solution:
The better option is to give the users an option to select rather than already adding it to the basket. We see that on swiggy tip your delivery executive. It’s the users who must make the decision, not the company.
3. Confirm shaming:
Defamation is nowadays a big legal aspect. Getting money as a settlement is the best thing here. So everyone goes to court for defamation. But when an app does that, it’s fine, is it?
I am a frequent traveler. I use this app called MakeMyTrip while booking a plane ticket. In the process, there is an Acko insurance section that asks for insurance. If I don't want to take the insurance, the other option will be “let me risk it,” thereby shaming the user. And the user has to select that to move forward. Insurance companies have recently begun to publicly shame their customers. You can see the image in the MakeMyTrip example.
Solution: Hire a polite and humble UX writer for your company 😁.
4. Forced action:
This is a state where the user cannot move forward without obeying the orders given by the application. Most of the time, we don't have a choice but to listen to the interface, which is why it is called forced action.
Most Windows OS users would have come across this situation where, when the Windows update is due, it makes us update forcefully rather than giving an option to users to do that next time when the user loads the system. Forcing the user to update and then proceeding.
Solution: Give users an option where they can do it at their preferred time.
5. Subscription Trap:
This method I want to relate to many companies that want the employees to stay, especially in universities, where we see a lot of employees moving or shifting jobs in the middle of a semester. In order for the university administration to stop this, they ask the employee to submit their original certificate documents. And this will be with the employer. TRAPPED !! That means they have control over your certificates. If you want it, you must go to the head of the institution, get proper approvals, and then they will issue it for a particular purpose and then collect it back.
In the same way, on a digital platform, once you subscribe or have an account, you must be able to unsubscribe. But many times what happens is on websites like Amazon.com and The New York Times, where they take you through tough processes to cancel your account with them.
My experience once with Amazon.com was that to find the cancel subscription, it's a roach motel. It takes too long to find that; even after you've found it, they will ask you to chat with customer care to explain the reason to unsubscribe.
Solution: The user must have complete rights to unsubscribe without any issue. Give it under the profile section, which is logically the right place to give it.
6. Drip Pricing:
Inviting a user to say that the product is just 99 rupees while the user takes it for billing, then adding tax, probably the cost of air conditioning that is in that room, and even a convenience fee, which airlines do a lot, is called drip pricing. This is drip pricing like drip irrigation, adding cost like drips. Small amounts lead to many.
Here is the bill that I would have planned in my mind when I was booking the food: 479 rupees, but in the final order bill, it becomes 469.48 rupees. This is called drip addition.
Solution: Provide clarity to the users while ordering the food itself, like the GST fee, partner fee, and delivery fee, which will help the user plan the order with more clarity.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the prevalence of dark patterns in e-commerce has long been a concern, manipulating users into unintended actions for the benefit of businesses. Drawing parallels with puppetry, where designers act as puppeteers steering users like jokers, the article sheds light on deceptive tactics employed by companies. The Indian government’s recent move to ban 13 dark patterns under the Consumer Protection Act is a positive step towards fostering fair e-commerce practices. The discussed examples, such as false urgency, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, forced action, subscription traps, and drip pricing, highlight the need for ethical design. Solutions proposed, such as providing transparent information, respecting user choices, and simplifying unsubscribe processes, advocate for a user-centric approach. Ultimately, the article emphasizes the responsibility of designers to prioritize user welfare over manipulative practices, fostering a digital landscape built on transparency and integrity.
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