By Quick answer: What are examples of dark patterns in apps?
- Urgency and scarcity — false timers, fake 'only 2 left'.
- Price tricks — drip pricing, basket sneaking, bait and switch.
- Traps — subscription traps, forced action, nagging.
- Manipulation — confirmshaming, trick questions, disguised ads.
- India — CCPA guidelines (2023) list 13 specified dark patterns.
Key takeaways
- Dark patterns work because they exploit predictable biases.
- They lift short-term metrics and damage trust, retention and brand.
- In India, specified dark patterns are prohibited under 2023 consumer protection guidelines.
- The same psychology can be used ethically — to help people do what they intend.
- Audit your own product: would users feel tricked if they understood the design?
You've almost certainly fallen for one this week. A countdown timer that reset when you refreshed. An insurance add-on already ticked in your cart. A "Cancel subscription" link buried four screens deep. These are dark patterns — design that works against the person using it. Harry Brignull, who coined the term, catalogues them at deceptive.design2. In India, the Central Consumer Protection Authority issued guidelines in November 2023 listing 13 specified dark patterns that platforms must not use1.
Urgency and scarcity
1. False urgency
"Offer ends in 09:59" — and it resets on refresh. Exploits loss aversion3. Ethical alternative: show real deadlines only.
2. Fake scarcity
"Only 2 left!" when there are hundreds. Ethical alternative: show stock only when it's true and useful.
Price tricks
3. Basket sneaking
An extra item, donation or insurance quietly added to your cart. One of the CCPA's specified patterns.
4. Drip pricing
The price grows at each checkout step — convenience fees, platform fees, handling. Ethical alternative: show the total upfront.
5. Bait and switch
You click for one product or price and get something else.
Traps
6. Subscription trap
One tap to subscribe; a maze to cancel. Ethical alternative: cancellation as easy as sign-up.
7. Confirmshaming
"No thanks, I don't want to save money." Guilt as a decline button.
8. Forced action
You must share contacts, create an account or buy something unrelated to proceed.
9. Nagging
Repeated prompts for permissions or ratings until you give in.
10. Trick questions
"Uncheck this box if you don't want to not receive offers."
Hidden manipulation
11. Interface interference
The "accept" button is bright and big; "decline" is grey and tiny.
12. Disguised advertisements
Ads styled as content, reviews or navigation.
13. Pre-ticked consent
Marketing or data-sharing boxes ticked by default — abusing the default effect.
14. Privacy zuckering
Interfaces that nudge you into sharing more personal data than you intended.
15. Fake social proof
Invented "37 people are viewing this" or fabricated reviews.
The CCPA's specified dark patterns (India, 2023)
| Specified pattern | In plain words |
|---|---|
| False urgency | Fake time pressure or scarcity |
| Basket sneaking | Adding items without consent |
| Confirm shaming | Guilt-tripping decline options |
| Forced action | Requiring unrelated actions to proceed |
| Subscription trap | Hard to cancel, hidden terms |
| Interface interference | Design that misleads choices |
| Bait and switch | Advertising one thing, delivering another |
| Drip pricing | Hiding the true price until later |
| Disguised advertisement | Ads posing as content |
| Nagging | Persistent, disruptive requests |
| Trick question | Confusing wording to mislead |
| SaaS billing | Exploiting recurring billing in software |
| Rogue malwares | Malicious software tricks such as ransomware or scareware |
Use the same psychology ethically
The biases dark patterns exploit — loss aversion, defaults, social proof, scarcity — can also help people do what they intend: finish a course, save money, stay healthy. Our SOA Laws of UX explain each, and the seven deadly sins of product design explores where persuasion becomes manipulation.
Key terms, defined
Dark pattern — a deceptive interface design. Loss aversion — losses feel bigger than equal gains. Default effect — people stick with pre-set options. Drip pricing — revealing costs gradually. CCPA — India's Central Consumer Protection Authority.
Frequently asked questions
What are dark patterns?
Design choices that trick or pressure users into decisions they didn't intend — buying more, sharing more data, or staying subscribed — often by exploiting cognitive biases.
Are dark patterns illegal in India?
The Central Consumer Protection Authority's Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, prohibit specified dark patterns for platforms offering goods or services in India, including false urgency, basket sneaking, subscription traps and drip pricing. Seek legal advice for specific cases.
What is confirmshaming?
Wording that guilts users out of declining — 'No thanks, I don't care about my health' — to make the decline option feel shameful.
What is drip pricing?
Revealing additional charges gradually during checkout so the final price is higher than the advertised one.
Why do companies use dark patterns?
They can lift short-term conversion and revenue metrics. But they increase refunds, complaints, churn and regulatory risk, and damage long-term trust.
How can designers avoid dark patterns?
Make prices and terms clear upfront, make cancellation as easy as sign-up, use honest urgency only, avoid pre-ticked add-ons, write neutral decline options, and test whether users understood what they agreed to.
Sources
- Vikaspedia (Government of India) — The Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023
- Deceptive Design (Harry Brignull) — Types of deceptive patterns
- Tversky & Kahneman — Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases (Science, 1974)
- Checked October 23, 2026. Figures that change — fees, salaries, prices — are reviewed every six months; if something is out of date, tell us.
Where to go from here
- The seven deadly sins of product design — the ethics of persuasive design
- SOA Laws of UX — the same biases, used ethically
- Design historyLogo evolution: how 20 famous logos changed, and why almost all of them got simplerLogo evolution of 20 brands from Coca-Cola (1886) to Air India (2023): who designed each, what changed, and the memory science behind simpler logos.
- Career guidesHow to get a behavioral design job in 2027: applying behavioural science to products ethically — friction, defaults, motivation and testingHow to get a behavioral design job in 2027: behavioural science for products, friction, defaults, motivation, ethics, dark pattern rules and testing.
- Making moneyApp monetization strategies that don't annoy users — designed with behavioural scienceMonetize your app without wrecking retention: value-first paywalls, honest trials, rewarded ads, anchoring and decoy pricing done ethically, and what to avoid.
- Making moneyIn-app purchase pricing: how top apps set their prices, and how to set yoursIn-app purchase pricing explained: regional prices for India, store price points, tiers and bundles, anchoring and decoys, trials and how to test prices safely.
- Architecture & engineeringThe best airports in the world in 2026, and the design science that makes them easy to useThe best airports in the world in 2026, led by Singapore Changi, and the design behind them: wayfinding, short walks, daylight and the psychology of waiting.
- App marketing & ASO25 referral program examples from top apps — and the design behind each25 referral program examples — Dropbox, Google Pay (Tez), Harry's, Robinhood and more — grouped by reward type, with the design lessons and India-specific tips.
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