Hall of shame

"Classic roach motel move: can’t cancel the service without calling them. So much self-serve is possible online, but not that."

"The X at the top right of Flight Radar doesn't close the panel but instead takes you to a page where you can register for a premium account. Panel cannot be dismissed"

"I really wish companies would ditch the easy subscribe HARD unsubscribe pattern..."

Shipping protection is preselected, meaning that users who do not notice the checkbox will end up paying an extra £2.95 for insurance that they may not want or need.

The HRAcuity website uses a dark pattern by forcing users to accept cookies in order to access a video. Even though the content is simply a regular YouTube video embed, which typically does not require cookies, the website's design prevents users from watching the video unless they accept cookies.

"Children are struggling with complex virtual currency systems, describing in-game currency conversions as “scary” and difficult to understand, often leading to unintentional overspending; random reward mechanics like loot boxes are deceptive and harmful, and still feature in many of the most popular Roblox games despite being banned for users under 15 in Australia in 2024; many children feel misled by the games they play, experiencing financial disappointment and family conflicts due to misleading spending features; Children need better protections [...]"

"Microsoft automatically switched me to the $99.99/year version with Spicy Autocomplete. You have to go all the way through "cancel subscription" to be presented these options and get the $69.99/year one you actually chose."

"Microsoft automatically switched me to the $99.99/year version [...] You have to go all the way through "cancel subscription" to be presented these options and get the $69.99/year one you actually chose."

Audible, an audiobook and podcast service owned by Amazon, is known for its wide selection of audio content. When it comes to cancelling your subscription, the process follows some of the classic patterns from the 'deceptive patterns' playbook, designed to complicate the process.

At first glance, this sign-up screen may look straightforward, but it uses a subtle dark pattern known as "pre-selection" to automatically opt users in to receive marketing emails. The "I would like to receive updates through the newsletter" checkbox is pre-selected by default.

"This seems like a prime example of if ever I've seen one."

Let's take a look at this screen. The app presents a “pre-approved” loan offer with an inviting “Get started” button. But look closely. Above that big button, there’s a checkbox that’s already ticked. What’s it for? It’s your consent for the app to check your credit score.

"from trying to get us to agree to their thieving bullshit in their latest update. The "I have read and agree" checkbox is not necessary, but it's made to look like it is..."

"I really wish companies would ditch the easy subscribe HARD unsubscribe pattern... its 2025 guys come on, stop trying to screw us!"

"Found after buying a railcard from Railcards .co.uk. Attention grabbed by "20.87 cash back" and "Get your cashback" button. Small print at the bottom hints (but doesn't really make it clear) that you are signing up to have 18.00 pm removed from your card accou..."

Canceling a subscription should be easy. But often, it’s not. The user experience design that promises ease and transparency can sometimes serve other purposes, like making it harder to cancel a service.

"Dribbble: Dark patterns in subscription cancellation Lots of good stuff on !"

"Airbnb and allowing illegal social housing sublets, say English councils Social housing providers claim platforms are refusing to cooperate with requests to remove illegally listed holiday lets 26 May 2024"

"The Humble Bundle custom amount slider is designed to makes it look like they get less than everyone else (Note bottom slider position & dollar amount against the others) Source:"

"Them: "I can give you 2 months free" Me: "No, I did not knowingly sign a contract. I want it cancelled with no charge" Them: "No I can't do that" Me: "If you charge a cancellation fee I will take Adobe to small claims court in the UK and the court can decide....."

"This call to action is utterly disingenuous. It looks like you're being invited to add 2FA for security reasons. It's actually an advertisement for Twitter Blue (or whatever they're calling it these days)."

"To delete content [] users would have to submit a request to and provide the Content ID numbers for those photos they wanted to delete [] these deletions from EyeEm market and partner platforms could take up to 180 days."

"FTC bans TurboTax from advertising free services, calls it deceptive"

"Google to pay $93m in settlement over deceptive location tracking Tech giant continued to collect and store a users location data even if users turned off their location history, according to suit"

""my brother spent $4000 on robux without our parents consent""

"Here, @wildrefill offers two "free gifts" with your purchase. Sounds too good to be true? That's because it is. They're both actually monthly subscriptions with third party vendors."

"Arc Browser requires an account and has quite a pushy approach to onboarding. For example, you can't skip the step you've got to scroll down to "No, I want to type in all my passwords again" then press "Next"."

"23andMe frantically changed its terms of service to prevent hacked customers from suing Unless customers inform the company that they don't agree to the new terms in writing, they will be automatically be opted in."

"Yet another VC funded tech company asking for tips! This time - a DEFAULT 20% tip that you have to notice and opt out of. (This is illegal in the EU). According to the video, this money goes to @Indiegogo and not to the vendors. Source: @marvelousdecay"

"The New Audi A3 - You have to add monthly subscriptions for things like cruise control and Apple CarPlay. Yikes."

"[1] Protect your vehicle with CarvanaCare ... Or ... [2] scroll down below what seems to be the bottom of the page, and find a small text link: "I choose to decline coverage and continue""

"LinkedIn is now using everyone's content to train their AI tool -- they just auto opted everyone in."

"A lawsuit seeking class-action status accused Amazon of false advertising and deceptive practices because Prime Video now serves commercials by default."

""How we developed our addictive and delightful widget" Note: I'm not suggesting duolingo uses deceptive practices. But their "addiction for learning is ok" model feels a bit icky to me."

"Just spent nearly half an hour trying to cancel PureGym membership. What's been your most predatory cancellation experience? Uk discussion thread:"

"Great story - How the classic Apple Mac sound 'Sosumi' is derived from the phrase "so, sue me!" because of a long running court battle with Apple Corps, the record label."

"This is @InsuranceYoga. You see this after you request to cancel automatic renewal. You're also required to enter a cancellation reason in a free text field. Viewing the discount takes you out of the cancellation journey - you have to start again if unhappy wi..."

"Here's another alleged example one from @Cloudflare . The user gets 50 users free, but as soon as they tip over to 51, EVERY user (including the first 50) is apparently billed at $7 per month. I haven't been able to double check this, please let me know if thi..."

"Order bars Intuit from engaging in deceptive practices in the future"

"Using your newly purchased LG appliance forces you into binding arbitration"

"What you see if you search for "Chrome" using Edge+Bing The chatbot response dominates the page, ignoring your search term and promoting bing instead. Source:"

"The article is from a couple of years ago, but their bad practices continue."

"Amazon's Choice for "knuckle dusters for self defence". Use AI to generate handy dandy summaries to boost revenue? Yes, let's do it! Use AI to remove harmful or illegal products? No, too difficult!"

"Meta uses dark patterns to thwart AI opt-outs in EU, complaint says EU Facebook users have until June 26 to opt out of AI training."

""The investigation into 'deceptive design' concerns the use of 'blue check' marks, which are now only available to those who pay. Before Musk, blue ticks were given by Twitter to verified users in the public eye, including ministers and celebrities.""

"I got caught out by the adobe stock "annual plan paid monthly" DP. I definitely did NOT intend to sign up for an annual plan. Curses."

"In Feb 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled in favour of protecting consumers against the preselection deceptive pattern used by WinRed - the donation platform used by the Trump campaign, pictured here."

"Wheres the no thanks?"

""Nope, not malware. Just Windows.""

""Use this activity" is an unusual choice of words, huh. (screenshot from @facebook yesterday)"

""Mercedes locks faster acceleration behind a $1,200 annual paywall" ALL YOUR CARS ARE BELONG TO US"

"A complaint filed to Washingtons AG alleges Starbuckss mobile app uses dark patterns to trick users into spending more money on beverages "The coffee chain is being accused of encouraging users to add funds to their Starbucks Cards in large increments, and the..."

"Adobe Swears Its Not Training Its A.I. on Your Photoshops BUT Adobe has not made any changes to its ToS making this claim effectively worthless."

"Spotify, Epic Games and others pen letter to EC, claiming Apple has made a mockery of the DMA"

"PRIVATE EYES: How a tech company is expanding surveillance in public streets"

"BMW has made a U-turn on a controversial subscription service that saw drivers pay a fee to activate the heated seats already fitted to their car."

"the best customer is a customer that does not pay directly, but actually gets a reminder, and also a debt collection letter - Niklas Adalberth, Klarna Co-founder"

"Perth councils deploying 'hostile architecture' to make life even tougher for homeless people"

"Gym cancellation. 2 minutes to sign up, 21 working days to cancel."

"European Commission fines Apple over 1.8 billion over abusive App store rules for music streaming providers The investigation found that "Apple bans music streaming app developers from fully informing iOS users" about alternative and cheaper services."

"EU opens child safety probes of Facebook and Instagram, citing addictive design concerns"

"YouTube Will Display a Blank Home Feed if Your Watch History Is Turned Off"

"3 minute walkthrough of the Adobe deceptive subscription cancellation experience (aka dark patterns) by @harrybr The part about Adobe starts at 3 minutes in."

"This has been in the pipeline for ages and we're very excited to announce this new research report by @Harrybr and @Cennydd!"

"$4.92 Billion Company Vs. 2 YouTubers These two youtubers found that Euronet ATMs charged them for pushing the "cash and balance" button without receiving any cash or balance information. The video went kinda viral and here's their follow-up:"

"Facial recognition' error message on vending machine sparks concern According to Invendas website, the Smart Vending Machines can detect the presence of a person, their estimated age and gender."

"Interesting that amazon is showing the kindle edition price (12.99) compared to the print list price (19.99 crossed out). It looks very like a discount, but it's not - the kindle list price is 12.99 and hasn't changed since launched."

"DoorDash now warns you that your food might get cold if you dont tip According to DoorDash spokesperson [], the prompt is something that were currently testing to help create the best possible experience for all members of our community."

"Adalytics alleges that YouTube appears to set long-lasting cookies specifically for users who are watching videos labeled "for kids." It also suggested that serves targeted ads on YouTube videos that are clearly labeled as 'for kids.'""

"Thanks to the new EU Digital Markets Act (DMA): "No Bing, no Edge, no upselling: De-crufted Windows 11 coming to Europe soon""

""Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Windows 11 to get people to ditch Google" Screenshot shows the notification UI appearing on top of a full-screen game, mid-play."

"What a mess StackOverflow is banning accounts that delete [or change] answers in protest against OpenAI"

"Is it possible to wriggle around advertising laws and regs like this: 1. Allow advertisers to run ads containing false information 2. Present a footnote under these ads saying the information presented is not true? 3. Profit from the ad revenue"

"British Gas starts to turn off Hive smart home devices forever"

"Pay no attention to the USB port behind the no USB sticker Is covering a printers USB port with a sticker to push people into wireless printing"

""HP's AiO devices won't scan or fax without ink, and plaintiffs say IT giant illegally withheld that info from buyers""

"Seatgeek charges 65% fees on tickets"

"How Google is killing independent sites like ours And why you shouldnt trust product recommendations from big media publishers ranking at the top of Google"

"Twitter Is Throttling Patreon Links, Creators Say It Undermines Their Livelihood The Markup"

"This process is annoying enough the first time, but at some point down the line, you'll also be offered [] the "second chance out-of-box experience," , which will try to get you to do all of this stuff again if you skipped some of it the first time."

"Class-action lawsuit accuses HP of monopolizing aftermarket ink cartridges Plaintiffs claim they never agreed to only purchase HP ink cartridges"

"CFPB Sues SoLo Funds for Deceiving Borrowers and Illegally Extracting Fees The company advertised zero-cost loans but deployed digital dark patterns resulting in almost every borrower paying at least one fee"

"Microsoft to stop forcing Windows 11 users into Edge in EU countries "...likely related to the EUs Digital Markets Act, which comes into effect in March 2024.""

"Microsoft starts testing ads in the Windows 11 Start menu - The Verge"

"Surely this cant be real. We've alerted you multiple times that this printer had non-Original HP cartridges installed. This is your final notice to fix the issue"

""My $400 baby monitor has locked previously free features behind a monthly subscription. The app used to send push notifications when the baby woke up. Now I have to pay $10 per month for that privilege.""

"Arizona Attorney General accuses Amazon of using dark patterns to keep users from canceling their Amazon Prime subscriptions. This is similar to a lawsuit the FTC filed against the company in June."

"Zoom terms now allow training AI on user content with no opt out"

"Elon Musks X is throttling traffic to websites he dislikes The site formerly known as Twitter added a five-second delay when a user clicked on a shortened link to the New York Times, Facebook and other sites Musk commonly attacks."

"FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power Amazons ongoing pattern of illegal conduct blocks competition, allowing it to wield monopoly power to inflate prices, degrade quality, and stifle innovation"

"HP launched a subscription service today that rents people a printer, allots them a specific amount of printed pages, and sends them ink for a monthly fee. [], the deal also comes with monitoring and a years-long commitment. from $6.99 to $35.99 / mo"

"This is Facebooks confirmation when you ask to see fewer posts of a particular type. For a while appears to be shorthand for our algorithm doesnt care how you feel about this sort of content, it may decide to show you it again soon and theres nothing you can d..."

""By clicking above, you can join our partner programme for 15pounds/month andclaimyourreward." This dialog is styled to look like part of the first party payment process, but in fact it's an advertisement for"

"Freund et al v. HP, Inc. The complaint contends that HP's 'all-in-one' printers have a defect intentionally designed to compel consumers to spend excessive amounts of money on ink. Full text pdf:"

"Google settles account settings lawsuit less than one week after being filed [pdf] Interesting comment on hacker news attached as image (unverified but sounds plausible?)"

""Complete Savings TM.... a preferred partner of London Gatwick Airport" See if you can spot the deceptive patterns."

In August 2024, the Washington, D.C. attorney general filed a lawsuit accusing StubHub of deceptive practices. The lawsuit highlights how StubHub uses hidden fees and manipulative design tactics to mislead consumers. These practices, which include countdown timers and fake scarcity tactics, are designed to pressure customers into making quick decisions.

X recently introduced a new setting that allows them to use the content you posts to train their AI, Grok. However, instead of informing users or asking for their explicit consent, X set this setting to "yes" for everyone without any notice. This is a textbook example of the dark pattern known as "preselection".

Reddit's persistent push for users to download its app, despite clear signs of disinterest, is an example of a classic dark pattern known as "nagging." Every day, users who go to Reddit's mobile site are greeted with a modal encouraging them to switch to the app, even if they've previously declined the offer.