#90 A Halloween Special on Dark Patterns and AI-Powered Manipulation Tactics
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Hello friends and welcome to a spine-jingling Halloween episode of the future of UX. So today we are peeling back the layers of some truly haunting digital tactics known as dark patterns and revealing how AI is making them even more powerful. From sneaky fees to algorithmic dodges,

Let's uncover the hidden forces guiding our choices online. And a little spoiler alert: They may not always have our best interests in mind. So in this podcast episode, we will go through four different areas of dark patterns about manipulations, share a lot of examples, and at the end, we are also going to talk about

what are the downsides or what are the big problems with UX dark patterns because what I'm unfortunately currently seeing is

more and more of these things happening, especially in the age of AI, because I really hate to say that, but I'm seeing a lot of companies moving a little bit away from the user, moving away from user research and focusing more on large language model insights, chat GPT personas, synthetic users and a little bit less on real user interviews and really providing long term value.

So we will get started with the very first segment, which are some very classic dark and dark patterns and real life examples. So dark patterns usually trick users into decisions they actually don't want to make to just make more money, for example, right? Like to have a bigger business success. Let's get started with the first example, which is the

Whole topic about classic dark patterns and real life examples: The Roach Motel, like free trials and subscription traps. Services like Audible and Amazon Prime make it incredibly easy to start a free trial by exceedingly tricky to cancel.

Audible, for instance, allows users to sign up in seconds, but requires multiple confirmation screens to cancel. Are you sure? Are you sure you want to cancel? Are you 100% sure? So sometimes even offering confusing prompts and vague language that make it feel like users are about to lose something valuable if they proceed their cancellation. So what's the impact for the user?

This creates a roach motel effect. Easy to get in, but challenging to get out. And as a result, users may keep paying for services they no longer want. What's the problem here? Users are not really excited about the product itself, they're just paying. So business-wise it looks great, but from the user experience, not so much. The second one is "confer shaming" - the guilt trip pop-ups.

You've probably seen at some point the get 20% off your purchase today with bold and brightly colored. Yes, I want the savings. You know, those kind of buttons next to a smaller gray. No, I prefer to pull a pay full price option.

Websites like Forever 21 or Booking.com have used these tactics to guilt users into signing up for newsletters, leveraging a user's discomfort with being labeled as someone who doesn't want to save money. Users feel pressured to make decisions they wouldn't normally choose, reinforcing unhealthy spending habits.

And this is also a lot about great copywriting and UX copywriting, right? Like how to actually describe certain decisions, what kind of copy you use for certain buttons, for example. So number three are the hidden costs and the surprise charges at StackOut. Ticketmaster is notorious for tacking on service fees or convenience fees

The very last step in their checkout process. They're not the only ones. A lot of companies are doing that, often raising the ticket price by 20 or 30%. And many users are unaware of these extra costs until it's almost too late. Encouraging impulse buys before users can fully access the added expense. I just had this experience because I wanted to...

order something i'm based in switzerland and sometimes we have some like special tax added or we don't usually don't um don't have free shipping but i found a website i wanted to order something it looked all great they said like free shipping and then at the end i almost i was almost done and then they added some shipping costs which were like 20 or so i was like oh you know i already went through everything should i cancel now ah

That's a pain. So the user impact is that users feel a little bit blindsided but often proceed because they have already invested time in the purchase process. So business-wise again it looks great but from the user experience not so much. And number four is the forest continuity. Never-ending subscription and we've probably all experienced something like this

So Apple Music, HBO Max are examples of services that don't remind users when their free trial ends. So users sign up thinking they will cancel in time only to be surprised by an automated monthly charge without any heads up and you forget about it and then you pay.

So the impact is that this approach increases revenue for companies while making users feel trapped in a subscription they didn't consciously renew.

There are also companies like Canva, for example, who remind you, they actually send you an email a few days or a week before your trial ends and then you just need to click on a button. And I absolutely love that. I think that's a great way to deal with customers, with clients. And at some point when you need the subscription, you come back and then you happily pay for a year, for example.

Okay, those were like the classic dark patterns already pretty spooky. But now we are moving to some AI enhanced manipulation tactics with real world examples. One is the algorithmic urgency or false scarcity tactics. E-commerce giants like Amazon use phrases like only three left in stock or order within the next three hours for delivery tomorrow to create urgency.

You probably all know that from Booking.com, who really love this trick. And AI really tailors these alerts based on browsing patterns. So knowing exactly how to time the prompts to increase the likelihood of a purchase. So what's the user impact? The user feels pressured to make quick decisions, often, yeah, sacrificing research time and spending more than they intended.

Because this is definitely something that we've all seen at some point in the website. And the interesting thing, I think generally with these manipulation tactics or these dark patterns, they're not forbidden. It's not 100% that they are lying to the user. It's just that they are tricking them to doing decisions that they are not really happy about. Or another one about AI manipulation is the endless scrolling autoplay, never ending content loop.

So TikTok's For You page is notorious for its endless scroll and autoplay features. AI algorithms continuously serve up highly tailored videos, learning more about a user's preferences over time and serving up just the right content to keep them hooked. So users get trapped in an infinite loop, sometimes spending hours scrolling, impacting productivity and mental health.

Not great for the user, right? To spend so much time on social media. We have a lot of studies to show that. But for the business, it's great. So it's some kind of like a manipulation tactic. And the last one in this section is the personalized price description. Adjusting prices based on behavior.

Airlines and travel sites like Expedia sometimes raise prices on flights when a user repeatedly checks for the same trip. So always go incognito when you search for flights or something like this. This AI driven tactic is based on predicting intent and creates urgency by artificially increasing costs, encouraging users to book quickly before prices rise again. What's the user impact?

Users pay higher prices simply because of their expressed interest with AI exploiting their urgency. So we are seeing AI will have a super big impact learning on the user behavior and then it's so much easier to also manipulate the user in ways that we as designers definitely don't want, right? Let's come to this episode's sponsor, Wix Studio.

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which are the deceptive patterns in content and privacy with real-life examples. So I want to show you two examples. One is the privacy sugaring, tricking users into sharing more data. Facebook has repeatedly made headlines for adjusting its privacy settings in ways that not chooses to overshare.

So in some cases, the interface highlights accept all in bright, attractive colors while hiding or downplaying reject options. What's the user impact? Many users unknowingly grant permissions they wouldn't normally agree to, compromising privacy. And you've probably all heard about the case with Figma, for example, right?

So you needed to opt out of the case that they are using your data to train the AI algorithm in the back. So this is a little bit tricky, right? It would be so much better if you proactively ask the user, are you okay if your data is shared for training the AI, right? So...

This is definitely a problem and something we need to be aware of. And the second thing are misleading consent banners like hidden data tracking. Many websites like certain news outlets or design cookie banners with only one prominent button except. We've probably all seen that because on every website that we are going, we have this cookie banner.

And with the accept is, yeah, to reject tracking users must dig through multiple links, outsourcing the choice to reject all. You can try that the next time that you are opening a new website and there's this cookie banner and then click on like reject or find the button to reject all. It's sometimes very, very hidden. So it's a strategic decision.

And the user impact is: Users unintentionally accept cookies giving away data they wouldn't intend to share. Which definitely is a problem for the business, it's great, so I understand that, but for the user not so much. And now we are already moving into segment number four, the last segment, which are the psychological manipulations and interfaces with real life examples.

And I want to share two examples. Number one are the gamified rewards, the habit forming notifications. Apps like Duolingo use gamified rewards notifications to keep users returning.

The app regularly notifies users of streaks and achievements playing on their desire to maintain progress, even when they aren't actively motivated to continue. This is pretty interesting because like some weeks ago I did a little bit of research with Duolingo. I wanted to check out how the gamification really works. So I downloaded the app, did a little bit of testing. I'm trying to learn Spanish at the moment.

So I tested it a little bit, but I felt like the app is not really for me. I just need a little bit more like grammar background and some explanation. So it really wasn't for me. So I basically didn't open the app for a few days and then the logo basically of the Duolingo widget changed it. So it's usually an oil smiling, being happy, and then the oil changed into crying.

So the whole widget basically changed into like a crying, sobbing oil, which was kind of funny. So of course I opened the app again because I felt kind of bad that I left the oil that I left Duolingo aside, although I didn't really, really want it because I felt like this is probably not something that I want to do.

So what's the user impact here? Users feel compelled to engage frequently, sometimes prioritizing the app over the important activities to avoid losing their progress. And I think this is a really thin line because on the one hand, you really need to motivate the user to do the right thing. I mean, learning a language is definitely a good thing, right? So this is not something that is really bad for you, like social media, for example, or staying too long on TikTok or just like endless scrolling.

But on the other hand, the user still needs to decide what is a good priority for them. So I think it's a slim line, but Duolingo is doing nothing wrong. But I think pretty interesting to have a look at their gamified rewards and how they are doing these habit forming notifications. And the second one are the loss aversion loops, the fear of missing out on temporary rewards.

Shopping apps like Shein, for example, create time limit discounts offered to exclusive flash sales, reinforced by AI-driven notifications tailored to any kind of browsing habits. And these tactics play on loss aversion, so pressuring users to buy before they miss out on the deal.

The user impact is that users often make impulse purchases to avoid feeling like they're losing out rather than out of genuine need or desire. So now you might wonder:

Why are dark patterns so bad if they can drive business results? And here's the issue. While these tactics can boost engagement, increase subscription and drive quick sales, they ultimately erode trust. And trust is the most important asset that we are having at the moment.

When users feel tricked or manipulated, it damages their relationship with the brand. So they are leaving, they're not coming back, although they might have paid for one more month, right? And in the long term, users may avoid companies they don't trust, leading to higher churn rates, negative reviews and ultimately a damaged reputation that's hard to repair.

As designers, this presents a really tough challenge because often business KPIs, so things like conversion rates or time spent on a page or subscription counts, are the metric by which success is measured.

But these KPIs can clash with ethical design and user-centered design. And when the pressure is on to meet these numbers, designers might be tempted or even directed, I would say directed more or less, to use techniques that prioritize short-term goals over user needs. So what can designers do now?

First, advocate for transparency. Building open dialogue with stakeholders about the importance of user trust. That can help shift the focus. And emphasize that ethical design isn't just a "nice to have", but it's more a long-term business asset. And designers can also provide data-driven insights showing how improved user satisfaction and trust actually lead to more sustained engagement.

For example, a user who feels in control is more likely to stay loyal, recommend the brand and make thoughtful repeat purchases. So something that we still need to push is real user research, because those are also the things where we learn how people really feel about being tricked in certain subscription, being tricked to doing an impulse buy of a hotel room, right? Where there's only one left and we need to hurry.

So finally, designers can prove ethical alternatives that still meet business goals. Instead of dark patterns, use clear language and design cues that guide users without manipulating them or manipulating them only slightly. Right. But there's a big difference between really tricking them into decisions they don't want to do and helping them decide.

So for instance, rather than tricking users into subscribing, show them the real value of a service with transparency about terms. Building trust and loyalty isn't just the ethical part, it's a powerful differentiator that pays off in the end, especially in times of AI, especially when we are seeing that so many companies are using dog patterns and that don't really value trust.

So I think this is such an important also reminder for us as designers that dark patterns are still here, manipulation is still here and it's becoming even worse with AI because we are learning more about the user so we can even tailor the dark patterns and manipulation tactics to the user. So if someone from like the business end is hearing that they're like oh awesome amazing but we as designers I think need to advocate for the user as always and

Yeah, have good arguments. So in the conclusion, we wrap up with a call for transparency and ethical responsibility in digital design. Mention that while AI's power to personalize experiences is useful, it can easily veer into manipulative territory. So your ex-designers have a duty to resist dark patterns and ensure users feel in control.

Acknowledge that while Halloween is the time to confront spooky themes, there's nothing scarier than an interface that subtly tricks users into actions they wouldn't consciously choose.

If you like this episode, if you got some aha moments and some insights, I would be so happy if you could rate this episode. Feel free to give them a five star review. That would be super helpful for me to do research for the episode, to find good interview partners. And yes, I really, really appreciate your support. Thank you so much for listening to this very special Halloween spooky episode. And I hear you now.

next week and of course hear you in the future