Dark Patterns Flashcards
What are Ben shniederman’s 8 golden rules?
- Strive for consistency
- Enable frequent users to use shortcuts
- Offer informative feedback
- Design dialog to yield closure
- Offer simple error handling
- Permit easy reversal of actions
- Support internal locus of control
- Reduce short-term memory load
What is ‘dark pattern’?
A design pattern used to serve the interests of companies rather than users
Dark patterns are on the border between
persuasion and trickery
What is the designer’s dilemma when it comes to dark patterns?
Balancing business goals with a duty to users, you must keep to the guidelines as to which is the proper dark pattern to use in the circumstances.
Why would designers use dark patterns?
To achieve companies goal for higher revenues and user subscriptions
What do dark patterns attempt to do?
Sneak things past the user, confuse them or make certain actions as difficult as possible.
Dark patterns serve the company or the user?
company
T or F: Dark patterns range from the mildly annoying, to the downright illegal.
True
How can you incorporate the prioritizing of advertisements into your design in a more responsible way?
Clearly distinguish the advertisements from the rest of the content.
This way, users aren’t tricked too much, and they will be able to ignore the prioritized ads while proceeding with their tasks.
Why are the sponsored ads in Gmail classed a dark pattern, while the promotions tab shows more advertisements that aren’t?
Because Google is using your browsing history to create personalized ads
How can you balance the evil of the prioritizing advertisements dark pattern?
Visually show that the user is dealing with advertisements.
When designing dark patterns, you as a designer should ask yourself…
What do I want to show and why? What do I want to hide and why?
opt-in/opt-out dance
an effective way to confuse users into agreeing to things you know they don’t really want.
In what way can a monthly charge be classed as a dark pattern?
It coerces people.
Why is the ‘sneaking products into baskets’ dark pattern considered illegal, whereas tricking people into automatically opting in to a weekly newsletter is not?
Because the sneaked-in products trick people into spending more money than they intended
Implied consent
a dark pattern you can use to reduce the likelihood that users end up rejecting the request for consent when accessing a web page or site.
something you can use with the best intentions possible whenever you don’t want to disturb the users’ flow when they’re accomplishing a task.
It is often used for consent to terms and conditions of online purchases, or for consent to the use of cookies on a web page. You can use visual design elements such as color, size, and position to make the request for consent as inconspicuous as possible, hoping that users will glance over it and continue to use the service
What visual elements do designers use to trick people into consenting implicitly with terms and conditions of a service?
Color and contrast
What functional element should you introduce to make an implied consent design pattern more user-friendly?
A button that needs to be clicked
What is meant by ‘dark pattern’?
A design pattern use to serve the interests of companies rather than users.
- Dark patterns attempt to sneak things past the user, confuse them or make certain actions as difficult as possible.
- Dark patterns range from mildly annoying, to the downright illegal
- Dark patterns could be considered as the purposeful misuse of well-established user interface design guidelines.
They’re on the border between persuasion and trickery. Because you have a dilemma with balancing business goals with a duty to users, you must keep to the guidelines as to which is the proper dark pattern to use in the circumstances.
How can you balance the evil of the prioritizing advertisements dark pattern?
Visually show that the user is dealing with advertisements.
Why are the sponsored ads in Gmail classed a dark pattern, while the promotions tab shows more advertisements that aren’t?
Because Google is using your browsing history to show personalized ads
What does ‘volunteering information’ mean?
Furnishing more information than the person asking the question need know.
How can you use colors as a dark pattern?
- The colors of text have low contrast to the background
2. The colors of inline links are the same as the colors of non-interactive text
Which of the following is true about dark patterns?
They’re all unethical and risk a brand’s reputation. You’re better off using other means to further your users’ needs and clients’ interests.
A product that uses a dark pattern will lead to many abandonments from its users, as they will no longer trust the brand. It’s a risky step to take as it could harm your product, so it is better not to use it and avoid that issue.
Why are the sponsored ads in Gmail classed a dark pattern, while the promotions tab shows more advertisements that aren’t?
Because Google is using your browsing history to show personalized ads
How can you balance the evil of prioritizing advertisements’ dark patterns?
Visually show that the user is dealing with advertisements.
What is a negative transfer?
A behavioral phenomenon where a previous action has a negative effect on another action.
What is the opt-in/opt-out dance?
An effective way to confuse users into agreeing to things you know they don’t really want. Agreeing to receive newsletters, to distribute personal details to third parties, or to terms and conditions of a purchase can all be achieved with the dark pattern of automatic opt-in.
Besides tactical decisions on whether to have an initially checked or unchecked box, you will have to think about the phrasing of the checkbox label thoroughly. Furthermore, to be a responsible designer, you should make sure that the checkboxes are clearly visible before users’ attention is drawn to a confirmation button.
Of the following approaches, which one is most likely to trick users into inadvertently agreeing to distribute their details to third parties?
a. An automatically selected opt-out checkbox
b. An unselected opt-in checkbox
c. An unselected opt-out checkbox
c. An unselected opt-out checkbox
The fact that the box isn’t selected makes the user think that they won’t be signed up for anything.
What is the monthly charge design pattern?
It is a scheme of monthly payments. That is not a dark pattern in itself, but it definitely has the potential to be.
Just think about the monthly payments you still make to the gym where you haven’t been in the last couple of months. You wanted that subscription and consciously made the decision to take it – at least, you did once, back then, at a time when every waking moment wasn’t spent rushing about being busy… like you are now. You even thought it would give you some extra motivation to work out, didn’t you? Then, somehow, matters got ahead of you and dropped too much of this thing called ‘life’ into your lap, and you started feeling bogged down. Now, for some reason, cancelling your subscription when you don’t use it anymore seems like too much effort or too low in priority to get done. And that is exactly what companies are hoping for when they force you to take a subscription—when they could just sell you a product or service once and be satisfied with that, and perhaps some nice words of feedback from you after a few weeks or so.
In what way can a monthly charge be classed as a dark pattern?
a. It coerces people
b. It tricks people
c. It confuses people
a. It coerces people
How can you responsibly use the monthly subscription dark pattern to make users accept a long commitment?
It’s a common practice; however, by offering an option to unsubscribe for users to easily notice, you send the message that your client brands genuinely value their users.
Why is the ‘sneaking products into baskets’ dark pattern considered illegal, whereas tricking people into automatically opting in to a weekly newsletter is not?
Because the sneaked-in products trick people into spending more money than they intended
In which case could you, as a designer, defend incorporating the “sneaking into baskets” dark pattern into your designs?
a. If it leads the user into investing in a sustainable future for mankind
b. If the products are directly related to the intended purchase
c. If the type of products are considered harmless and generic
a. If it leads the user into investing in a sustainable future for mankind
We can use dark patterns for charitable purposes, and we could also use them for other fair purposes of a good cause. One example is to lead the user to take some action that will invest in some way in a sustainable future for humankind.
What is implied consent?
A dark pattern you can use to reduce the likelihood that users end up rejecting the request for consent when accessing a web page or site. It is often used for consent to terms and conditions of online purchases, or for consent to use of cookies on a webpage.
What visual elements do designers use to trick people into consenting implicitly with terms and conditions of a service?
a. color and contrast
b. Flashy images
c. Shapes that are completely hidden in patterns
a. color and contrast
What functional element should you introduce to make an implied consent design pattern more user-friendly?
a. A button that needs to be clicked
b. A complete overview of the terms
c. A checkbox that serves to opt users in automatically
a. A button that needs to be clicked
