‘Companies using tricks to make people more likely to sign up and/or pay money are terrible and need to be regulated! Now- If you would like to read more a subscription to our site is only…’
This post was inspired by a Benedict Evans’ tweet.
One of the many phrases that has become popular to an annoying degree over the last few years is the concept of “dark patterns.” These are, we’re told, sneaky, ethically dubious ways, in which companies — usually “big tech” — trick users into doing what the companies want. I’m not saying that companies don’t do sketchy stuff to try to make money. Lots of companies do. Indeed, we’ve spent decades calling out some pretty sketchy behavior by companies to get your money. But the phrase “dark patterns” has such a connotation to it, and it is now used in cases that, um, don’t even seem that bad (and, yes, I’ve used the term myself, once, but, that was demonstrating specific behavior that was pretty clearly fraudulent).
Of course, the NY Times is among the media orgs which have really popularized the phrase. It wrote one of the earliest popular articles about the concept, and has called it out multiple times when talking about tech companies. That last one is particularly notable because it was written by a member of the NY Times, Greg Bensinger. He really, really doesn’t like “dark patterns” that manipulate users into… say, “signing up for things.”
These are examples of “dark patterns,” the techniques that companies use online to get consumers to sign up for things, keep subscriptions they might otherwise cancel or turn over more personal data. They come in countless variations: giant blinking sign-up buttons, hidden unsubscribe links, red X’s that actually open new pages, countdown timers and pre-checked options for marketing spam. Think of them as the digital equivalent of trying to cancel a gym membership.