Designing Trust - How Interface Choices Shape Our Digital Privacy Decisions

Shiva Maya at UXDX Community: Luck, Trust & Design: Building Resilient Teams & Secure Interfaces. Video: https://youtu.be/lxyHEpcsRXE

Readable transcript: edited from the recording's captions for readability (fillers and false starts removed, punctuation and section headings added). Wording is the speaker's own. Timestamps are positions in the video. Names marked [?] could not be verified against the audio.

Designers' responsibility and a shoe shop example

[00:00:07] Shiva: Thank you so much. Hello everyone. My name is Shiva, and I'm excited to talk to you about a topic that's becoming increasingly important in our digital world. As designers, we have the power to influence how users interact with technology, and with that power comes the responsibility to make ethical choices that respect user privacy.

[00:00:32] Imagine this. You're browsing the web looking for a new pair of shoes. You find a website that has exactly what you're looking for, and they even offer a 10% discount if you sign up for the newsletter. You think, why not, and enter your email address. But what you don't realize is that by signing up, you are also agreeing to share your browsing history and personal data with third-party advertisers. The fine print was there, but it was buried in a wall of text that you didn't bother to read. This is a classic example of a dark pattern, where the design of the interface tricks you into giving up more than you intended. Today we'll look at how dark patterns operate, especially in privacy contexts, examine their real-world impact, and explore how we can design for genuine trust instead.

What dark patterns are and how common they are

[00:01:32] What exactly are dark patterns? Formally speaking, dark patterns are design techniques used in websites and apps to manipulate users into taking actions they might not want to take, such as buying products, signing up for services, or, in this case, sharing personal data. These patterns exploit human psychology and user behavior to achieve the company's goals, often at the expense of the user's best interests. What makes them particularly insidious is how they exploit our cognitive biases, those mental shortcuts our brains take. We are not talking about poor design here. We are talking about deliberately manipulative design.

[00:02:23] In 2022, a report by the European Commission revealed that the prevalence of dark patterns had grown even further, with 97% of popular apps used by EU consumers displaying dark UX patterns. This upward trend highlights the increasing reliance on these tactics across industries, driven by a desire to maximize conversions and outpace competitors. Also, a 2019 report from Princeton University revealed the prevalence of dark patterns. The researchers analyzed about 53,000 product pages from 11,000 shopping websites and found that 11% of the sites surveyed featured dark patterns that were aggressive, misleading and potentially unlawful.

[00:03:20] You have to know that dark patterns are not present in user experiences by mistake. They are carefully crafted to appear during a certain moment of the user interaction process. Sometimes there are design errors, and by mistake the interface or user flow happens to benefit the company and confuse or mislead the user. But when companies realize this creates a benefit for them and then intentionally keep it that way, it becomes a dark pattern.

[00:03:59] Before we go through some of the most popular and recognizable dark patterns, it's essential to distinguish dark UX from bad UX. Bad design is a poorly designed website or product that doesn't meet users' needs, unintentionally. Dark UX is dishonest design. It's crucial to know that dark UX patterns don't result from poor design. They exist with a mission to persuade users into actions instead of satisfying their needs. Moreover, customers usually don't notice a negative user experience, because of a smooth flow.

[00:04:55] At this point, it's common to think: why would companies use them in the first place? You won't be surprised to learn that the answer is money. Industries generate more profit by creating a user experience that manipulates users to buy more, stay longer, or invite their friends to use their platforms. This usually only works in the short term, often at the expense of creating a frustrating experience. People remember bad experiences and negative emotions rather than positive ones.

Confirmshaming, the roach motel and pre-selection

[00:05:25] Let's discuss some of the most common dark patterns in UX, and what to do instead. This is one of the most common dark patterns: confirmshaming. It means appealing to emotional blackmail to persuade people to confirm actions or stop them from taking place. It's okay to ask users if they are aware of and wish to proceed with their decisions. However, the wording and the way it is presented can quickly turn into a dark pattern.

[00:06:00] For example, the platform Duolingo sends you an email with their signature mascot, an owl, crying. This is one of the most universal yet effective communication methods: showing sadness or vulnerability. We know an owl can't feel sad because we are leaving a service. Most importantly, we know the owl is not even real. However, there is something that goes beyond logic and straight to our emotional core. According to The Verge, they have even redesigned Duolingo's signature mascot over the years to widen the apparent facial expressions and cause an emotional reaction.

[00:06:42] Second, we see the roach motel pattern when actions that benefit the company are intuitive, enticing and even pushy. Conversely, actions that benefit the user and not the company are complex, ambiguous and tedious. Companies often use this pattern to lure the user into taking an action by confusing or manipulating them. They make this process extremely smooth and direct. Once users perform this action, it's hard to cancel or undo it.

[00:07:15] In most companies, subscribing to a newsletter is easy, straightforward, and pointed out with a big CTA. However, unsubscribing is done via email, and users need to find the word "unsubscribe" in a small gray font that easily goes unnoticed. Even after users try to unsubscribe, they are asked to confirm several times and fill out surveys that discourage them from continuing this process. Sometimes they even need to make a phone call, or even go to a physical office. Amazon's users have had issues when cancelling their Amazon Prime subscription, and with deleting their accounts as well. In fact, the company recently had to simplify the process required for cancelling Prime membership to meet EU regulations.

[00:08:12] The next one is pre-selection, and we often see this dark pattern in conjunction with the roach motel pattern. With pre-selection, users aren't even enticed or manipulated into taking actions; the platform has already pre-selected these actions for them. Again, this pattern applies to actions that benefit the company and that users won't usually choose by themselves. With pre-selection, users end up subscribing to newsletters or getting premium travel insurance without noticing. When the company creates actions that only benefit them and not the user, it should be completely up to the user to agree to that action, after being informed of the possible benefits and conditions.

Forced continuity, misdirection and friend spam

[00:09:15] With another dark pattern, companies manipulate the user into giving their billing data or information, sometimes even promising a free trial or a discount in exchange for a product or service. With time, they start charging a recurring bill or subscription with no chance to opt out. They use wording and manipulation to assure the user they won't be charged anything right now, and they start charging money after a month or two, when the user has forgotten the subscription.

[00:09:55] In UX, it is important to give the user control and freedom over the actions taking place on the platform. If these actions involve billing, it's even more critical. This can be fixed easily by emailing the user to let them know you will start charging money three to five days before the end of the free trial.

[00:10:23] Intentional misdirection is the use of visual or text content that creates an outcome that is ambiguous, vague or, even worse, the opposite of the desired or expected outcome. Let's think of an example. A user wants to cancel a subscription to a newsletter. When asked to confirm this action, a button with the word "cancel" may have two meanings: either confirm the cancellation or cancel the cancellation. This can happen through unintentional or poor wording, or through visual indicators like color or shape.

[00:11:11] Companies use friend spam to manipulate users into giving them social media permissions and access to their contacts. They often disguise this action as inviting your friends, or similar actions that seem to offer a positive outcome to the user. In 2013, LinkedIn received a lawsuit for harvesting some of their users' contacts, going as far as sending an email on the user's behalf to all the people in their email contact list. This could be anyone from their boss to a friend from high school.

False urgency and nagging

[00:11:56] Similarly, creating false urgency is another typical dark pattern in UX. Dark patterns focus solely on the interest of the company while disregarding the user's interest. However, they use wording and emotional manipulation to present this urgent notification as something valuable to the user. Most social media platforms nowadays create this fear of missing out by hinting that something is happening within the app, but without explaining in detail what that means.

[00:12:34] A good example is a notification along the lines of "Your friends miss you" or "You have been invited to an event", to encourage you to find out what this is. Once you click or tap on the notification, you're inside the app, and it can show you endless content and make you stay for hours. We all understand that companies want their customers to spend as much time as possible on their apps, but this often gets out of scale, and in reality it invades users' lives while providing very little value.

[00:13:23] Nagging is, in other words, not accepting no for an answer. The most obvious example is suggesting premium subscriptions or newsletters without allowing the user to refuse permanently. Replacing the "no" option with "not now", "not yet" or "maybe later" removes the choice from the user, to benefit the company. The user may eventually accept those conditions because they give up, in a way, after the platform has nagged them once a day, for example.

How to avoid dark patterns

[00:14:03] Now, how do we avoid dark patterns in UX design? If we want to avoid dark patterns and deceptive design, we need a good combination of research and common sense. For research, it's essential to be aware of the competition. What are some good examples of UX from similar platforms? Do their users complain about UX dark patterns? How do they convince users to subscribe to newsletters or buy their products or services? Also, user testing is a great way to detect design errors that can potentially become dark patterns, and also to see how users react to the wording, interface and user flow: for example, whether suggesting a premium subscription is too pushy, or the wording makes them feel manipulated.

[00:15:06] Here are some common-sense tips to avoid dark patterns in UX. You should be transparent with the user to earn their trust, and give them control and freedom to make an informed decision before taking an action. Also, test and iterate your product until there is a balance between the user's and the company's best interests. Follow the best design principles and usability heuristics to keep the design user centered and avoid common mistakes. Create design patterns that benefit the user even if they harm the company. At some point, the user wants to feel valued and heard, and that they control the platform, not the other way around. There are many ways to make the user feel valued and heard, even if it doesn't directly benefit the company.

[00:16:10] YouTube included two reminders: to take a break and close the app, for example every 60 minutes, and also a bedtime reminder to stop using the app between, for example, 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. The YouTube mobile app includes tools to manage time spent on the app. Even though the platform encourages the user to spend more time, these reminders help balance the user's experience and avoid burnout. With these strategies, users will leave with a genuine positive impression. This leads to satisfaction, positive reviews, and profit in the long term. It also helps to create more sustainable websites, because it reduces content on websites, emails, newsletters, and unnecessary information in general.

Every design decision is a moral choice

[00:17:07] As we wrap up, I want to leave you with a thought. Every design decision we make is a moral choice. When we design interfaces, we are not just arranging pixels. We are shaping behavior, influencing decisions, and either building or eroding trust. We all know that companies want to make money by offering products and services, and there is nothing wrong with that. But there's a difference between inviting the user to interact with the platform in a certain way while still giving them a positive experience, and pressuring the user to do things that do not benefit them, or punishing them for acting in a way that does not benefit the company.

[00:17:56] Companies can find several reasons to avoid dark patterns. By following best design practices, they can build a positive brand image, maintain customer trust, and adhere to legal and ethical standards in the long run. It promotes transparency and a long-term focus on customer satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately benefiting the company's growth and sustainability.

[00:18:27] As UX designers, it's not easy to balance company profit and positive user experiences. Sometimes we don't even notice that the design process we create causes frustration and even makes people lose money. But by learning more about dark patterns, we can understand further how to avoid them and enhance the user experience. After all, we can always strive to be more transparent and ethical with our target audience, and why not with ourselves as well. Thank you.

Q&A

[00:19:01] Host: Thank you very much. It's a very common topic, because all these dark patterns keep coming up everywhere, so it was great to go through all the different categories and share some advice as well. Thank you very much.

[00:19:17] Shiva: You're welcome.

[00:19:18] Host: Just to reiterate: if you have any questions out there, please write them in on whichever platform you're watching, and I'll put those questions through to Shiva. But I'm going to start with one. Early on in your talk, you mentioned Duolingo and the emotion that their character generates. All sales are emotional. So is there anything really bad about trying to tap into end customers' emotions? Because that's what salespeople do. If you ever have a one-on-one meeting with a salesperson, they're going to try to tap into your emotions. So is that really that bad?

[00:19:57] Shiva: I think that it's not right. I mean, in marketing we target customers' feelings, but we are aware of these dark patterns. For example, I know that customers go with the default checkbox; they'd rather keep it that way than change it. So if I add insurances, extra fees and those kinds of things, knowing they're not going to read it and they're going to proceed with it, that is not ethical.

[00:20:34] Host: Yeah, those kinds of default options. I often find myself having to deselect the marketing emails. But just on the emotion: is it wrong to target it? Are all of our headlines and all our copy not, in a way, emotional?

[00:20:55] Shiva: As I said, in marketing we should understand customers' and users' feelings. But, for example, if I want to make you feel bad about something so that you stay, well, that's not right.

[00:21:05] Host: Yeah, I guess it's making you feel bad versus trying to tap into your hope. Brilliant. What advice do you have if, let's say, you're working as a researcher, designer or developer, and you're getting these requirements because somebody has said, "You know what, we're going to make a lot of money if we do this"?

[00:21:29] Shiva: Oh yeah, that's right. I was also in this position once. I was working in an agency, with both the marketer and the founder, and we were working on the content that we wanted to display. They wanted to make sure, for example, that the user clicks on the wrong spot so that they open an ad, or click on something. I explained to them that you may collect a couple of clicks from someone, but after a while they will get upset. For example, when you open Booking.com and it says, "Just five rooms left", it's a lie, but at the same time it makes you feel anxious. Subconsciously we understand it: although we see it, subconsciously we understand that they are tricking us, and it ruins the relationship after a long time. So for now you may get a couple of clicks, and it works for you and you earn something, but after a long time you will lose that user.

[00:22:41] Host: And you used two examples during your talk. There was LinkedIn, which is famous for harvesting your whole contact list, and Facebook as well; they're quite common with their notifications and things like that. But the reason they're still doing those things today is because they worked, and they helped them to grow their platforms. So is it a trade-off, that your growth will outpace your churn from the people who get annoyed with your platform?

[00:23:18] Shiva: For example, we know that Facebook collects lots of data. I think all of us were users, but after a long time we put it away and stopped using it because of the bad reputation it has right now. So I think overall, after a long time, some people are aware of these kinds of things and some people don't care, but you're still going to lose some of your maybe loyal users. So the best choice is still to stick with ethical choices, so you don't ruin your brand reputation like this.

[00:23:59] Host: Okay, that's good advice. Moving on to the premium model, because you brought that up as one of your patterns. I see this a lot: you like a product, and they say, "Oh yeah, you get a free month, but you still have to give us your credit card details," because they're signing you up behind the scenes and hoping you forget. But are they hoping you forget, or is there something there? Because if they just give it away free the whole time, they'll go out of business. So if you're a company and you're trying to encourage people, what's the best pattern?

[00:24:38] Shiva: That you actually let them use some of your features for a limited time, or a couple of your features, and if they want more, they pay for it. But if you make them give you their billing information and then later charge them, it's going to cost you even more, because if they don't want it, they will call the services to cancel it. If they subscribe to buying an item and receive something, you have to pay again for the postage, pay for the package, and it's going to cost you even more after a while. So it's better to give them freedom of choice.

[00:25:23] Host: Great. And then a future-gazing one. If these patterns have been around for so long and they're still around, do you have hope for the future?

[00:25:36] Shiva: Yes. Actually, there's a website called Hall of Shame. It publishes news about what big brands are doing with their dark patterns. You can see, for example, that Amazon has the most dark patterns on their websites, or beauty products and those kinds of things. So I think you would ruin your reputation after a while, or at least the people who are sensitive to this would find out, and it wouldn't look good.

[00:26:13] Host: Okay, so it's the long game. I guess the challenge, and now I'm going to play devil's advocate just to stir things up: if I'm looking out as a business person and I see a hall of shame, and it's got Amazon and Facebook and LinkedIn, I'm thinking, those are the big boys. So in an opposite way I'd actually think, you know what, these patterns work. Is there a risk that it might backfire, if the people being called out are actually incredibly successful?

[00:26:52] Shiva: Let me see. That's a really good question. For example, I link my contacts to social media accounts to find people. If I knew that one day LinkedIn was going to email them, I would never do this. They may have built this feature to help people like me find the people that I know, but if that feature may cause problems for me, I might never use it. So what's the point of building that feature? You should be careful with what you're doing.

[00:27:35] And people nowadays use social media, so if I'm upset about something on a website and I write about it, it goes viral and it ruins their reputation. For example, there was an airline, and a traveler lost their luggage, and they decided to build a website and pay for promotions on social media, so that any person who searched for that airline would receive a message saying they lost their luggage, do not buy tickets from them, their service sucks. After about a week it was in the news, and the airline found out that its reputation was being ruined. So if a customer is unhappy with you, they can ruin your business reputation.

[00:28:31] Host: Yeah. I guess because people are becoming more aware these days, if you're a new company without that brand loyalty, it's probably a bigger risk.

[00:28:44] Shiva: Yeah, that's correct.

[00:28:48] Host: Brilliant. Well, that brings us pretty much to time. I just want to thank you once again, Shiva, for sharing. I hope everybody out there enjoyed it as much as I did, and I hope you'll all learn to err on the side of good UX patterns versus the bad ones. Thank you.