What Makes a Dark UI Pattern? (Video)

Dark pattern is a term that gets tossed around a lot in our field. Sometimes you’ll hear practitioners use this term to describe elements that trick users into doing something they don’t wanna do like opting into your newsletter. And other times you’ll hear practitioners use this term to describe persuasive design techniques like scarcity. So what is a dark pattern really? Well, the term was coined in 2010 and defined as a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things like buying insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills. Now the terms carefully crafted and trick users are important there. Dark pattern are intentionally implemented to confuse or exploit users. For example, consider signing up for a newsletter from a new source and then encountering a checkbox that reads, Don’t not sell my information. This language which uses a double negative is intentionally confusing. The page hopes users will make a mistake and opt into selling their personal information, and that benefits the company.