What are some of the worst dark patterns you've seen?
I will go first- sneaking in membership fees while making a purchase; urban company recently got some flak for it.
Why is it confusing? How is this dark pattern?
A lot of companies do it. Here the Remove button is right on face. Zepto hides it too much - delivery pass
If something is a value added service, you can suggest it during checkout. But adding it to the cart outright is the dark pattern.
An equivalent would be when you go to the supermarket checkout section, the staff throws in a few chocolates, some AA batteries and wet wipes - and then claims you can take them out if you’d like. ☠️
Auto opt-in is classified as a dark pattern by the government.
Try cancelling booked cab on Uber and Rapido. First of all it’s hidden behind the button ‘Trip details’. And then they take you through bunch of clicks to cancel.
Not sure if this qualifies as dark pattern but it’s irritating for sure
It very much is a dark pattern.
Booking a ride is much easier than cancelling it - aligned more with the company’s incentives and not the user’s needs.
Also, Rapido goes a step further by making the text on the Cancel button very hard to read by using horrible contrast. 😪
Uber also adds a “cancelling” motion graphic for 4-6 seconds, making you think as if you did something wrong and can undo it.
Zepto gives an option to select free delivery when eligible. 🤕
Electronic Arts is the dark pattern itself
Zomato with its tipping policy - if you’ve paid a delivery person a tip once, they will keep it preselected and not even call it out clearly. Or they will combine it with some donation & delivery fee so if you’re looking at it before you pay, you can’t catch it immediately
I once paid a delivery person a 50 rupee tip because they delivered in the rain, and then that has remained preselected without Zomato even calling it out