A dark pattern is a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things they wouldnt otherwise do, such as buying overpriced insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills. These patterns exploit human psychology for the sole purpose of encouraging people to act against their best interests, and they can range from subtle omissions to outright lies. Dark patterns can be illegal and unethical, and they can make customers unhappy and cause them to lose trust in a business.

Some examples of dark patterns include:

• Roach motel: This is when its easy to sign up for a service, but difficult to cancel it.
• Sneak into basket: This is when a retailer sneaks something into your shopping cart while youre trying to purchase something else, like a warranty or service plan that you have to opt-out of to have it removed from your cart.
• Misdirection: This is when a website or app uses visual or language cues to steer users towards a particular action, such as clicking on an ad instead of a download button.
• Confirmshaming: This is when a website or app uses manipulative language to make users feel guilty or ashamed for not taking a particular action, such as unsubscribing from a mailing list.

Dark patterns can be difficult to spot, but being aware of their hallmarks and examples of practices that are under particular scrutiny can help services take steps to reduce the risk of regulatory scrutiny. The European Data Protection Board suggests that the principle of fair processing laid down in Article 5 (1) (a) GDPR serves as a starting point to assess whether a design pattern actually constitutes a dark pattern.