Dark patterns, also known as deceptive design or deceptive patterns, are essentially tricks. Websites and apps use dark patterns to manipulate users into making decisions they wouldn’t have otherwise ...

Dark patterns are special tricks used in the interface of applications and websites that make you do things that you don’t really want to. For example, when you land on a website and have to sign up ...

Some business practices on the internet may not be against the law, but they undermine or manipulate consumer choice. Legal advocates have coined a new name for this practice: dark patterns. Difficult ...

Dark patterns have been a recent regulatory focus. The FTC issued an enforcement policy late last year, and the European Data Protection Board followed suit with guidelines this spring. The two have ...

Tech companies, subscription apps and e-commerce sites have for years used subtle tricks to nudge people toward a decision or purchase they might not otherwise make. There's even a name for the ...

“When it comes to the digital sphere, we want to make it fair. It’s shocking that on average 60% of websites did not comply with basic consumer rules between 2007 and 2019…. This is why we want to ...

MORE. IT’S A TERM THAT’S BEEN USED IN THE ONLINE WORLD FOR A FEW YEARS NOW, BUT NOW FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION IS TRYING TO SHINE SOME LIGHT ON WHAT ARE KNOWN AS DARK PATTERNS USE TO TRICK YOU INTO ...

At the end of 2025, millions of Americans started receiving small payments, usually under $51, with the note “Amazon FTC ...

We have all encountered them, in both our personal and professional lives. Think about the times you felt tricked or frustrated by a membership or subscription that had a seamless signup process but ...

Dark patterns are design elements that deliberately obscure, mislead, coerce and/or deceive website visitors into making unintended and possibly harmful choices. Dark patterns can be found in many ...