Dark UX patterns: to use or not?
Dark patterns still raise a lot of questions and discussions. Some believe that they should not be used, because it is almost manipulation of the user, while others, on the contrary, are of the opinion that all means are good in battle.
This term was first introduced in 2010 thanks to a UX designer from London named Harry Brinnull. He described “dark patterns” as a carefully crafted user interface that encourages the user to move in a way that benefits the company.
The creation of this technique relies on a detailed knowledge of how human psychology works, and this is what the entire dark pattern scheme is built on. In this case, the interests of the user go into the background. As a result, the user, without realizing it, begins to acquire things that he does not need at all.
How dark patterns work
Most likely you have encountered situations where you are asked to agree to certain terms which you do not like, but at the same time there are no better options. This is exactly how dark patterns work.
Roughly speaking, these are interface interaction scenarios in which the user is forced to act in a way that is beneficial to the company. But only along the way are basic tricks built on human inattention and psychology.
Most often at the behest of dark patterns are people who are trying to find as quickly as possible a solution to the problem before them. They don’t actually read the text and the terms on the page, but glimpse at the text, clinging to a carefully chosen word. As a result, the trap of dark patterns slams shut, and in the pursuit of speed, these users don’t even notice that they begin to take advantage of it.
The funny thing is that even this scheme is built on the same rules that were created to improve the usability of interfaces. You could say that dark patterns are a twisted version of Nielsen’s 10 heuristics, which are a guide to creating perfect UX interfaces.
When it comes to types of dark patterns, there are quite a few. The most common variant remains the imposition of subscriptions in an almost forced way. And this is what most modern services use.
When installing an application or registering on the site, the user is offered a free trial subscription. In this case, you need to enter your credit card data when activating, and if the user forgets to cancel the subscription, then when the trial period ends, the money for the subscription is automatically deducted from his account.
But that’s not all. Quite a few companies do not add a notification on the subscription activation window about future debits, and in some cases it will be necessary to call the office or make a request via e-mail to cancel the subscription.
Another type of dark patterns is when a user can quickly and easily create an account, but then deleting it is an ordeal that is unlikely to be resolved without support.
On top of that, there is the “bait and switch” approach, where the user seems to be offered two options to solve the situation, but both options lead in the same direction. Recall the famous “upgrade” and “upgrade tonight” from Windows. Because of this wording, many users installed updates they didn’t need.
And these are by no means all possible tricks. Collecting personal data, tracking items viewed, asking for answers to questions, misleading, spam, hidden advertising and spending are all elements of dark patterns that work against the user.
And to summarize all of the above, we can responsibly say that dark patterns are deceptions that are better not to be used. Building relationships with your users using such methods will only lead to a loss of trust and loyalty to the company, and therefore a loss of revenue in the long term.
Of course, it can be said that within reasonable limits the use of such patterns will not hurt. But whether the short-term benefits are worth such reputational sacrifices is another matter.