Ethics in Design: Dark Patterns
From internet ads, to tv and radio commercials, to billboards, we have all generally come to accept that advertisements are a common backdrop to our lives. Companies are constantly developing new ad strategies to attempt to attract new customers and sell more product. They know what works; they’ve invested millions in market research and testing. And just like brick-and-mortar companies, online companies are developing their own tricks of the trade. While the logistics of the two are vastly different, the goal remains the same: Attract new customers, increase the customer cart size, and retain the user base. But, sometimes in their efforts, companies can stretch ethicality thin in exchange for higher profit margins.
Dark Patterns
“Dark pattern” is a term coined by Harry Brignull in 2010. On his website, darkpatterns.org, he describes the term as,”… the tricks used in websites and apps that make you do things that you didn’t mean to, like buying or signing up for something.” Basically, the deceptive, ethically questionable functionality design used by brands to favor the company. He set up his website to educate people on some of the most common tactics and to call-out brands caught using deceptive design. There is a great thirty-minute lecture posted online where he explains and gives specific, visual examples of dark patterns in action. In this video he calls designers to consider removing the ambiguity of ethics in the field, “I think we need a code of ethics. Just a simple, but clear, set of patterns that we are and are not allowed to use.”
If you’re short on time, Nerdwriter has a more succinct, seven-minute video describing much of the same material.
Examples & Definitions
Below, Brignull defines the most common types of dark patterns. Clicking the links below will show you further descriptions and examples as provided by Brignull’s website.
While filling in a form you respond to a question that tricks you into giving an answer you didn’t intend. When glanced upon quickly the question appears to ask one thing, but when read carefully it asks another thing entirely.
You attempt to purchase something, but somewhere in the purchasing journey the site sneaks an additional item into your basket, often through the use of an opt-out radio button or checkbox on a prior page.
You get into a situation very easily, but then you find it is hard to get out of it (e.g. a premium subscription).
You are tricked into publicly sharing more information about yourself than you really intended to. Named after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The retailer makes it hard for you to compare the price of an item with another item, so you cannot make an informed decision.
The design purposefully focuses your attention on one thing in order to distract you attention from another.
You get to the last step of the checkout process, only to discover some unexpected charges have appeared, e.g. delivery charges, tax, etc.
You set out to do one thing, but a different, undesirable thing happens instead.
The act of guilting the user into opting into something. The option to decline is worded in such a way as to shame the user into compliance.
Adverts that are disguised as other kinds of content or navigation, in order to get you to click on them.
When your free trial with a service comes to an end and your credit card silently starts getting charged without any warning. In some cases this is made even worse by making it difficult to cancel the membership.
The product asks for your email or social media permissions under the pretence it will be used for a desirable outcome (e.g. finding friends), but then spams all your contacts in a message that claims to be from you.
Ethics in Design
Designer Alan Cooper says, “If your company is just in it for the money, maybe you should look for a better company. It’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility.” And while that’s a fine and noble principle to stand by, certainly many aren’t privileged enough to simply walk away from a paycheck. In lieu of such dramatic approaches, Brignull suggested in one interview, ”Don’t be a complainer. Avoid opinion and build research-backed evidence. Read about change management and find like-minded senior people in the organization.”
Kat Zhou created the website designethically.com as a resource for those with questions on ethics in design. Another, similar site is ethicsfordesigners.com.
Legalities
Generally speaking, while dark patterns are unethical, they are not usually illegal. In fact, companies spend a great deal of time and effort making sure these practices stay just on the right side of legal, so they can continue to operate in this way. As of now, there is little regulation on many practices and legal loopholes dark patterns take advantage of. However, there is proposed legislation that would potentially ban these so-called “dark patterns” and would help regulate a degree of transparency from these online companies.
According to a 2019 Gizmodo article, Senators Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) have introduced legislation that would potentially ban dark patterns. Fischer said on the matter, “Any privacy policy involving consent is weakened by the presence of dark patterns. These manipulative user interfaces intentionally limit understanding and undermine consumer choice. … Our bipartisan legislation seeks to curb the use of these dishonest interfaces and increase trust online.”
The draft of the bill would make it illegal for large, public online services to use dark patterns in an attempt to “design, modify, or manipulate a user interface with the purpose or substantial effect of obscuring, subverting, or impairing user autonomy, decision-making, or choice to obtain consent or user data.”
While acts like this are a step in the right direction, we all know technology evolves faster than bureaucracy adapts. Continued pressure on politicians and the online industry itself is still needed, along with the support of ethics-focused designers.
Oh, this is very informative. I had no idea, yet I’ve seen exactly what you are talking about. The one that is frustrating is setting up something on line and then when you get to the end you are charged more than you expected. Now you are faced with a choice of losing all of the work you put in or spending way more than you expected. Now I have a word to put to what is happening, Dark Patterns.
I never knew there was a name for this! I care for my husband’s aunt and she is all the time being tricked into things… Some of it is her not reading every word of a website and some is her just being naive. She keeps falling for the free trials that you only pay shipping for, only to be charged full price two weeks later. She claims she never knew it would do that, it never said anywhere they would do that. I know it is always there, it may be so small you can’t read it, but it is there somewhere. Great information!
It’s interesting to know that older, ethically questionable tactics have made their way into the digital age. Not entirely surprising given that is just how our world operates (however unfortunate that is), but interesting nonetheless.
I love that you included information about what people are doing to combat dark patterns. Senators even (one from both major parties in fact!). Great post with lots of good information! Thanks for sharing!
Yes, a good and informative read. I like that you made your Examples & Definitions clickable to another link for detailed information. I, too, appreciate that you give us examples of how to combat dark patterns.
very informative blog! we tricked so much that we publicly shared so much information about ourself without realizing it which is not good. Also, there are spam email which claims to be authentic and they try to change your email and passwords just to get inside your personal information. this post is very informational which can help a lot of people from scammers.
I am really enjoying all of the ethical articles that have been published in our blog, especially this one! I had no idea there was even a name for the many annoying work around, now Dark Patterns, I encounter almost daily on the web. I think the most common one that happens to me is either forced continuity or friend spam. I find it very frustrating that, as you put, it these tactics aren’t illegal. I find myself wondering why that might be? Possibly the vague wording provides a loophole for the creator?
Dark patterns are something we all encounter. A lot of us, myself included, don’t know we are encountering them though. At least not in the moment. It is a little mind-blowing, though it really shouldn’t be, that some things are designed with the explicit intent of being unethical. I love your line “we all know technology evolves faster than bureaucracy adapts.” Not only is that a true statement, but it is also a powerful statement.
I think, ethically speaking, you’ve take a gigantic step in combating the lack of ethics in dark design by attempting to educate the masses. Manipulative tactics in advertisement are certainly not new, but the immediacy of the digital age has moved the manipulations into previously uncharted territory. To build off your point of bureaucracy moving more slowly than technology, there is also a learning curve that the general population has to master before we are caught up with the bad guys. Thanks for such an informative article!
Enjoyed reading your article. I’ve seen some of these types of ads but never really knew the information behind them so thank you for sharing.
I have experienced and am pretty savvy on keeping at safe distances to the dark side, but it is easy to be tricked into something that looks legit. Well, I guess the point is that these things are legit, but they are not ethical. I appreciate being educated on the experiences I have encountered. I have learned so much from blogs such as yours, but I do feel a bit like a relic for all that I don’t know. I am not in the realms some of these blogs speak of, so how do I get plugged in without drowning? What do you think of the publication Wired?
There is a load of information here that I needed to hear…mostly to share with my mother. Thankfully, I’m pretty cautious of dark patterns. I didn’t know there was a name for it, though! Very interesting read – I enjoyed this post!