Ever tried to cancel a subscription online and felt like you were trapped in a maze? Or ended up buying way more than you planned? You’ve likely been caught in a dark pattern - a sneaky design trick used by websites to manipulate your choices.
That’s why we’re sharing this article from our partner Lifetime Retirement Income. They’ve put together a clear guide to expose the clever tactics some websites use to make us click, buy, or share more than we intended.
You can read the original article by Vanessa Glennie on Lifetime's website Retirement here: Dark patterns: How to outsmart sneaky online tricks. Or, continue below to read the full article and don't forget to share your thoughts in the comments.
Dark patterns, or deceptive patterns, are deliberate design decisions made by online businesses that aim to mislead or deceive shoppers, says Victoria University lecturer in Media and Communications, Dr Alex Beattie.
Boiled down, they’re tricks that attempt to steer, deceive, coerce, or manipulate you into making choices that may not be in your best interests.
While we regulate the way physical buildings are built, digital construction is still playing catch-up, Dr Beattie says. And that gap is being exploited.
Even the OECD is sounding the alarm, warning in a 2022 report that dark patterns can cause “substantial consumer detriment”.
These tactics often come with quirky names - but their impact on consumers is anything but funny.
Regulating techniques like dark patterns come under multiple government agencies, meaning it can slip through the regulatory cracks in New Zealand, Dr Beattie says.
He also argues our privacy laws need to catch up.
“Our privacy law is not fit for purpose in the digital age,” he says.
Still, there have been wins. The Commerce Commission has taken action against Jetstar for opt-out pricing, and HelloFresh faced charges for reactivating subscriptions without clear consent when former customers were offered a discount voucher.
Dr Beattie says these kinds of actions are easier to regulate when they’re ‘over the top’.
“It’s this grey area when it’s a bit more subtle that can still catch people out,” he says.
Stay vigilant and fight back, as it’s currently a buyer-beware situation.
• Set reminders to cancel free trials before they renew.
• Use ad blockers and software added to your browser to filter out manipulative content.
• Visit Deceptive Design to learn more about these tactics.
Dr Beattie urges consumers to speak up:
“Talk to your MP, complain to the Privacy Commissioner. Overseas, there are more efforts to regulate dark patterns. I know in California, there is a specific piece of legislation that’s trying to outlaw dark patterns,” Dr Beattie says.
“The EU has done a bit as well. But we’re far behind in that sense.”
His vision is a future where digital spaces are held to the same standards as physical ones, so people can feel assured they are entering a digital environment that is built safely and where they won’t be manipulated.
“If we have it in a physical sense, why can’t we have it in a digital sense, especially as we are spending more and more time online?”.
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