Dark pattern
lastmod 2025-04-25created 2025-04-251 edits
A dark pattern (deceptive design pattern) is a user interface cleverly designed to lead users into taking particular actions. Examples include getting people to buy expensive insurance, or tricking consumers into signing up for multiple recurring bills. The term was coined on July 28, 2010 by user experience designer Harry Brignull, who created the site darkpatterns.org as "a repository whose purpose is to expose and shame user interfaces that deceive consumers".
In 2021, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Consumer Reports began accepting tips from the public to collect information about dark patterns. In South Korea, dark patterns began to be seen as a problem in the 2020s and are expected to be regulated.
Categories
- Gruen Transfer
- Dark pattern
- User Experience (UX)
- User Interface (UI)
- Marketing
- Anti-pattern
- Growth hacking
- Opt-in
- Opt-out