A Dark Pattern (DP) is an interface maliciously crafted to deceive users into performing actions they did not mean to do. In this work, we analyze Dark Patterns in 240 popular mobile apps and conduct an online experiment with 589 users on how they perceive Dark Patterns in such apps. The results of the analysis show that 95% of the analyzed apps contain one or more forms of Dark Patterns and, on average, popular applications include at least seven different types of deceiving interfaces. The online experiment shows that most users do not recognize Dark Patterns, but can perform better in recognizing malicious designs if informed on the issue. We discuss the impact of our work and what measures could be applied to alleviate the issue.
‹ All reading
UI Dark Patterns and Where to Find Them: A Study on Mobile Applications and User Perception
Researchers analyzed Dark Patterns in 240 apps and ran an experiment with 589 users on how they perceive Dark Patterns. They found 95% of the apps contained Dark Patterns and that most users do not recognize Dark Patterns unless informed beforehand.