How Dark Patterns Trick You Online 

Whoever first found out how to delete your amazon account is a legend.

The largest trap in this digital age is "accept the terms and condition" where nobody reads it, yet... everyone accept it.

Tried to exit full screen and instead I added this to favorites, subscribed to a women’s magazine and switched off the lamp. Doooh! Darn dark patterns.

I kinda reversed these "dark patterns" in my mind, now i'm reflectively clicking on the small and greyed out links instead of the bright and shiny buttons.

We really ought to have a "Defence against the dark patterns" teaching subject in school!

They have actually already changed how you delete your Amazon account, there is no longer a Login and Security option, you just select "Other non-order questions" then "Something else" and with no indication that this is the correct procedure, choose to contact them (e.g. Chat). After talking to them and convincing them to delete your account, they'll send you an email attempting to convince you to delete your account at the bottom of which is a link to send a message to Amazon (the same messenger used to query an order) where you must ask them to close your account, and assuming they do not send you back into a loop of talking to an assistant, they will close your account in a few weeks.

One little thing I see sometimes on youtube videos (and I don't think the creators do it on purpose) is that they transition into the ad immediately after the content is finished, with not so much as a pause or a change in the scene, so it takes you a few moments to even realize that you are watching an ad.

I hate that "Red Cross" sign on ads

if there is an fake dust on an ad but your monitor does not have touch screen... you are saved

I worked for a company where the boss wanted me to put some smudgy pixels in the icon for the app I was building for the purpose of tricking people into touching the button more to wipe it away. I advised against it and we didn't.

someone should make a site that lists everything in the terms agreement in 200 words or less.

This video is literally an r/assholedesign showcase

Facebook won't let me delete my acount forever. They always say after deleting it: if you ever want to reopen your acount you just need to sign in. And somehow I always end up signing in on accident after months of not using it. The only way to delete it permanently is to delete my email adress and my phone number... and never ever sign in again by accident. But truly... it's never deleted. And what was worse. Was that after 7 years of facebook use... alot... alot of photos were stored in the memory of the social app. And after deleting it the first time, people could still see photos of me. So i had to delete the photos... but ofcourse, they don't let you delete all the photos at once. So I had to go photo by photo and coment by coment and friend by friend to delete every single piece of my facebook existence. Which took two days. Two days! And it still exists... haunting me as a ghost... as some type of black hole that can reopen at anytime even though it's completly empty and hollow... it's like a cold corridor that lacks memory but still exists just to haunt me.

Let's all go annoy the Amazon support people about closing accounts

Did I just get dark patterned into getting NordVPN?

One very annoying example of this is when installing the Windows 10 operating system the user is prompted to decide how their settings will be configured, and the default option (which is made much more prevalent on the secreen) to keep defaults benefits Microsoft greatly but you have to click the more subtle advanced options to disable their access to much of your data.

I think asking a company to be honest is a one time thing. If they're not honest, you shouldn't use them anymore. Unfortunately, with companies like Amazon, there's not much alternative, is there?

Great message and great advice! I do my best to shame companies for shitty behaviour like this on Twitter and other social media platforms, and sometimes I even get a reply! I wish more people were aware of these tricks, and also aware that public shaming of huge corporations actually has an effect and puts some pressure on them to make changes. Nobody likes bad publicity, especially if you have shareholders.

"Not designers' fault because they're just doing what they're paid to do, and if they don't others will". You do realise that can be used to justify anything, from deceptive banner ads to soldiers executing innocents during wartime. This abdication of responsibility is literally the cause of ALL of the world's problems!!

4:33 “Right side of the law” *proceeds to go on the left side of the law*

When I was younger I was a huge victim to these when trying to download software. The consequences came with multiple extra programs being downloaded in the install process. If anyone knows what I am talking about. During the install process (of the actual desired software) they offer all these other programs and plugins to you and the big button would often say "No" so you would think that pressing it would be turning down the offer. But you're wrong. You just agreed to download/install on your computer that additional software you assumed you said no to. Why? Because in the print it asks a trick question, where pressing "No" actually is a form of agreeing to download their software. While as the skip button, would lie hidden in grey coloring down below with their legal text, or in a misplaced spot you normally would not find a skip button to appear. Over the years I have been better and more careful to notice these and make sure I was not being deceived. But with some getting more and more tricky, it is easy to fall victim to their games.

"It's not the fault of designers, they're just doing what they're tasked to do." As a professional, I strongly disagree with this. Professionals need ethics and integrity. By reducing ourselves to "pixel pushers" we're first-hand taking part in de-professionalisation our field.

I take issue with saying this is not the fault of designers. Professional ethics is something that needs to be taken very seriously. This is more gray then lots of ethical dilemmas, but if every designer just says "someone else will do this if I don't", then we get no where. If my boss asked me to do something unethical, I shouldn't (and wouldn't) do it just because they can get another engineer to do it. Everyone should take professional ethics seriously and encourage your peers to do the same.

The term dark pattern is itself one. It should simply be called what it is: misleading, sleazebaggery, cheating, deception, tricks, manipulation, lies.

an ad that is above a button i want to click. but the ad delays a few seconds before it actually shows and pushed down the button. making me unintentionally clicked the ad.

5:10 Professor Snape was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, that's for sure.

5:10 no, our best defense is to destroy the incentives that allow for this to happen in the first place. Even if we know about how they’re manipulating us now, they’ll just change it up. It never ends.

When you talk about the dark pattern on LinkedIn about adding people to your network, you put it in past tense, but they very much still practice it today. Just two days ago I again almost accidentally hit the button that sends that annoying email. The UI has changed somewhat, but it's still the same options even if they lost that lawsuit.

3:21 *I actually touched my screen because I though it was something on my screen..*

NordVPN is shit, it's so fucking slow. Use Crypticvpn.

Thank you! A brilliantly simple dissection of how design is manipulated to design our next moves online.

I'm so used to looking out for that "blended in the background" text that when I try to do something that might hurt the company, sometimes the companies have genuinely good people and have the option properly displayed and I'm figuring out where this super secret option is when it's actually there in plain sight with red arrows and a red circle.

To be honest that company that puts a speck of dust on their add is smart af

When you click on a video just as they roll the outro to pause it but they put an end card link at that very spot just as soon as your slow internet realizes you clicked there....

1:09 *Sees Breath Of The Wild* "Ahh, I see you're a man of culture as well."

PayPal lets you pay with PayPal or PayPal credit. The buttons look identical. Many people click the credit button and get charged interest. nice huh?

And I thought I was dumb; can't even delete an account!

Nord VPN has dark patterns just like amazon. It is not easy to close an account.

Stupid dark pattern, all I wanted to do was pay for the drink I ordered, but instead I pulled out a gun and threatened to kill the cashier if they charged me for it! There was nothing I could do about it!

This is why I read everything before clicking a big shiny button, especially when installing and uninstalling something. I've seen some programs have a big shiny green button for "Continue" and a neutral grey button for "Cancel" when uninstalling something. Naturally you'd think "Continue" means "continue the uninstallation", but if you read the popup it's actually for continuing to their website and the "Cancel" button is for choosing not to which would then continue to the uninstallation.

As an UX designer, I find this very well put. Kudos 👏🏻

OH GOD, this reminds me to an experience I had with Pinterest! D: I was researching something and sadly, as it happens a lot these days, Google shows many Pinterest posts (maybe because sharing is a big thing there, I dont know...). Because I REALLY wanted to get the source, I created a Pinterest account with my Facebook account. BIG MISTAKE! Once I had an account their, I got many Pinterest e-mails. So i wanted to unsubscribe them. And here starts the DARK PATTERN! In the e-mail you can find a link, which leads you to Pinterest and your account options. There you see a switch-button to disable/unsubscribe. But once you do this, you still get mails. So I unsubscribed again. But this time there were two switch-buttons. First disabled and second enabled. At first I thought, I maybe didn't saw the second button the first time and disabled it, too. But: still mails. I got mad and did it again in the third mail! But now I saw, what was happening: After clicking the unsubscribe link the third time and got leaded to the options page, their was suddenly a THIRD switch-button. THEY DO THIS ON PURPOSE! You just get the unsubscribe-switch-button-option, WHEN you try to unsubscribe! And just for ONE topic! They don't show you all the swtch-buttons from the start! And the topics are actually all the same! Like "You like this? So you like also that!"....."You like this? Maybe you like that?"..... or "You like this? So you don't know that one until now!" ! It took me THREE MORE times to completly unsubscirbe to these mails. At the end, there were SIX switch-buttons I had to disable to get my final peace! D: Six times doing the same stupid thing for actually solving one problem.

This is why people shouldn't buy from G2A, as well. They are notorious about using this with their Shield, sales, refunds, and more.

You ever clicked on a X and then you realize its a fake X and then it takes you to their page yeah same Edit: Thanks for likes guys

6:24 "military-grade encryption" means nothing Using deceptive advertising in a video that denounces deceptive advertising :D

2 vids in such a sort amount of time. Bless up!

So the title could be, "How to delete your Amazon account".

Damn, being colourblind makes those deceiving links impossible to see

Yes! I've always noticed this, glad there's a term for it. Buttons like "Confirm" or "Sign me up!" are huge and colorful and have actual boxes around them, while the "No, thanks" option is underneath in really small text with no box to trick you into maybe not noticing it

This really needs to become more known. I've always noticed these cheap and sneaky ways in which interfaces work against you and a company immediately loses my trust if I see the slightest hint of such design. I had no idea it even has a name but I'm glad people are catching up. Hope more people see this and start paying attention.

I wonder what kind of dark patterns can be found in this video :P

I tried to delete my LinkedIn it was such a bad trip

_Delightfully devilish_

I really really really like this guy. I really hope he continues and stays on this path.

I've watched all your material and today your video was an assignment in my UX Bootcamp on Information Architecture. Really relevant stuff man, glad to see you're well known.

Finally I can delete my Amazon account!!

Seeing those booking.com popups gave me PTSD. Amazing video though, as someone who does UI design I'm all too familiar with these but could never put them into words

The design language for gov.uk is one of the few things that actually make me feel patriotic

I love the variety of this channel, because the quality never dips even though Evan covers so many different topics

Here's a sneaky dark pattern right here on RU-vid: In the mobile app, whenever there's an offering for a Premium free trial, there are _only_ options to sign up for the trial now or to skip it entirely. And most of the time, that offering covers up the entire screen. I, personally, want the trial, but don't want it _now_ since it's only valid for a limited time--I only want to start it when I actually NEED RU-vid Premium--but is there a 'maybe later' option? Nope! Why? To condition you to pick the trial because the only other choice is missing out. Or, closing the RU-vid app and re-opening it, but if that offer comes up when you're playing a video, tough luck. A sort of 'Roach Motel'-type Dark Pattern is closely related: if you, for ANY reason, exit the RU-vid app whilst it considers a video to be 'playing'--even if that video is _buffering_ and you're trying to either switch to data to fix that or wait it out in another app--it *_WILL_* assume that you're trying to use 'background play', a Premium-only feature--EVEN IF THE VIDEO IS BUFFERING. And thus, the above 'try it NOW or miss out or re-open the app!' dark pattern is triggered. ---------------- Another, separate dark pattern, which in my case is coupled with "mis"-targeted advertising is in one of the advertisement campaigns on RU-vid, specifically the _The Real Cost_ anti-smoking/anti-vaping PSA campaign. Specifically, their "Brain Trolled" advertisements. The dark pattern? The ads deliberately grab your attention immediately, and can't be skipped--there's no way to ignore them. I can see the honest intent from them--they're legitimate PSAs--but I have a problem with a particular one. For those who don't know that the "Brain Trolled" PSA campaign is, it's a series of advertisements that deliberately exploits the Pink Rhinoceros effect--where it's difficult to deliberately shun thoughts from your brain. They all come in the same format: a quote on your screen saying "Try not to [insert an unpleasant action here]", whilst sounds designed to invoke said action play. It then cuts to "See? It's easy to put bad things in your brain," and states that vaping puts nicotine in your brain, accompanied by the hashtag "BrainTrolled." _Then,_ it cuts to a very brief close-up of the action in question, accompanied by the aforementioned sounds of it being performed. Doesn't seem too bad, does it? At first, it wasn't--simply describing the eating of toenails or chewing aluminum foil--then, they went to _worse_ actions, namely having a zit popped _into your mouth_ and *_EATING A MAGGOT-INFESTED STRAYBERRY._* The dark pattern works as a sort of "Roach Motel" phenomenon by deliberately grabbing your attention with unpleasant sounds at the start of the PSA and text that immediately implants the idea into your brain; even if you look away, close your eyes, or scroll down, knowing how the advertisement will end, it still managed to insert the idea. Additionally, the ads are unskippable, meaning if you want to try and forget the unpleasant thought implanted into your brain, you have to mute your volume (or cover your ears if on mobile) and wait arbitrarily until the video starts, then rewind to wherever you were in said video--mercy help you if you get this ad in a livestream--or, if on a browser, refresh the page, if you're at the beginning of it anyway. While (presumably) utterly effective at its intended goal, it's a hassle for those who don't actually smoke or vape--like myself. And this is where the problem comes in: I'm going to hazard a guess and assume that I'm being targeted for the PSAs based off of my age demographic at the time of this writing, but unless caffeine counts, (for those who don't know what that is, it's a substance common in sodas and coffee,) I've never knowingly ingested a psychoactive substance in my life, and as such I do not have a nicotine addiction. Furthermore, I once noticed maggots in a recycling bin and assumed they were ramen noodles until I peered closer, which outright traumatized me, and which is why I have a problem with that advertisement--it automatically assumes I vape or smoke due to my age demographic, and thus refuses to let me ignore it despite the "maggot-infested strawberry" version of the advertisement reminding me of a traumatic incident. It's not that this particular dark pattern is simply for the good of the advertiser--the PSAs are sponsored by the US government (the FDA specifically if I remember correctly, couldn't tell you since I've been avoiding the things ever since they introduced that maggot version)--but I'm just not the intended target, as cigarettes and vape pens outright repulse me (literally, and due to second-hand smoke,) already. On a separate but related note: Nerdwriter, if you're reading this for any reason, and haven't done an episode about it already (I'm currently new to this channel), I suggest an episode on when targeted advertising makes too many assumptions, since it's an interesting subject that, as the above story states, is a phenomenon I've personally endured. Either way, If _anyone's_ read this far, I'm pleasantly surprised you had the patience, and thank you for it, as this rather did drag on.

Never even bothered unsubscribing to a spam email, It's not like it does anything. I just mark it as spam and I don't see anything further.

For more on dark patterns, here's a list with examples of bad user experiences: 7 Causes of Bad UX blog.fullstory.com/7-causes-of-bad-user-experiences/ Some aren't overtly malicious but all are terribly frustrating.

Will be back April 11.

Appreciate your ad at the end, actually relevant and useful. Thank you for being considerate in your ad content.

My mother had a hell of a time trying to de-activate my late grandmother's Amazon account after she passed away, but the entertaining part was the chat, watching my mother bicker with someone trying to convince her that a dead person's Amazon account was still useful. "What if they came back to life???"

this is my favorite of yours in a while. love the new topic, and love that your branching out with your advertising to support a vpn company. killin it as always, evan. always excited to see what you'll do next

Better title: How Nerdwriter1 tricks you to come online

so like every button on a torrent website other than the actual download button? Also big fan! great video!

Had a few good chuckles with this video. Just went through cancelling my Amazon account and was shocked at how involved the process was!

Watching me realise another example on Facebook. Whenever I open that site on PC, my "Home" page shows random videos from other accounts as advertisements for their pages and Mark only knows how many I have clicked "Block X to stop seeing this".

I saw Tokyo Ghost in your "Recommendations for you in books" around 0:54....I see you're a man of culture as well.

I'm pretty sure most dark patterns are illegal under EU law such as the Consumer Rights Directive (which stops "sneak in the basket" tactics) and the GDPR.

Thanks for installing useful program A. Install extra bullshit? *Checked by default*

Oh. My friend was recently widowed and posted something on Facebook about how awful Amazon was being with her trying to close her dead husband's account! Other companies are insensitive to this as well but I remember her specifically calling out Amazon. Just crazy!

I digitally signed an appeal by Amnesty International, on Facebook. A couple of months later I was getting sick of their constant emails so I clicked 'unsubscribe' in an email. This took me to a webpage which told me that I could unsubscribe by first CREATING AN ACCOUNT! I decided that wasn't happening, so I blocked their emails instead. I was amazed that such an organisation would use such a lousy way of implementing an unsubscribe option.

I have seen the Fnords, and now I have seen the Dark Patterns.

Speaking of which, how do I delete my Microsoft account? I never used it and tried to get rid of it as soon as I realized I don't actually need it to sign in to my PC. But the 'delete account' button is nowhere to be found.

"military grade encryption" ? I hope you didn't write *that* one.

Ah, this is the type of content I want to see! Great insight, my dude.

My favorite dark pattern is the confusing pages that those email unsubscribe links go to. They always have a million confusing double and triple negatives so you don’t know if checking the box on the page unsubscribes you or not.

Another one is when you install Windows 10 and want to have a local account.

LET ME BE FREE!

There, RU-vid, I finally watched the video. Happy?

reading the terms and conditions is so tedious that it's frowned upon socially, convincing even more people to just click accept because they want to fit in

my favourite 2018 nerdwriter video so far, that ending was lit man. Thank you for sharing these analyses with us!

Microsoft is doing that with windows since 8 unfortunatly...

"It's not the fault of the designer, they're just doing what they're tasked to do". Sure. Because UX designers taking responsibility would be crazy, right? They're compliant in manipulating users towards actions that are, ultimately, against the best interests of those users. Giving the people who implement bad design a free pass under the guise of "following orders" is incredibly disingenuous.

Would you ever do a video on Queen? Just wondering.

This is brilliant. Never seen your videos before and subscribed straight after seeing this one. The more we can develop language for this kind of online behavior, the more we will be able to call it out, moderate it and balance user rights with that of exploitative companies.

Thanks for the graphic representation at 4:35, I'm not sure I would have understood the difference between legal and illegal without it.

i've fallen for this a couple of times feelsbad ):

Our best defense against the Dark Patterns is to turn off our devices.

Sooooo....... R/assholedesign?

Once I needed to contact Facebook because there was an incorrect charge on my account from a marketing thing I had set up. I spent half a day trying to figure out a way to get help or talk to someone. Long story short, you can't! I will no longer be doing marketing or anything business related with facebook that's for sure.

Last night I had one of my dreams narrated by nerdwriter1. I have watched a bunch of your videos lately and it seems like you had some deep impact on my subconscious! Love your work. keep up

*adds ad at the end*

of course you're sponsored by nordvpn

Only channel that I have notifications on for.

Wow! This was f'ing brilliant. A co-worker of mine shared this video w/ us and I'm so glad I watched. Have subscribed and signed up for notifications. Soooo well produced. Keep this type of content coming! Thx Nerdwriter1!!

I just passed this whole week thinking about how much I've been feeling overloaded by ads and pop-ups in almost every site I go. Examples like if I try to change tabs on chrome I get a "don't go" message or if I try to read a report on a news website, I can only read half of it if I'm not a subscriber. No wonder why adblocker is so popular, it's like a shield from this extreme ad world we live in.