this shit's on purpose and i hate it so much WHAT STATE IS YOUR TOGGLE IN MOTHER FUCKER? #ux #darkpatterns

35 data brokers employed #DarkPatterns to discourage #Californian​s from exercising privacy rights. Hid legally required web pages from Google—so we can’t find them. Senator unhappy, accuses firms of “requiring people to navigate byzantine labyrinths.” In #SBBlogwatch, we join her trisyllabic diss.

Slow, sarcastic clap for rac.co.uk . Classic roach motel move: can’t cancel the service without calling them. So much self-serve is possible online, but not that. Almost like you can never leave… cc/ @deceptive.design

Very happy to share the Table of Contents of my new book, "Dark Patterns, Deceptive Design, and the Law: AI's Hidden Influence on Our Digital Experience" www.bloomsbury.com/uk/dark-patt...

Coming soon. Well done @stribs.bsky.social! rosenfeldmedia.com/books/design...

This seems like a prime example of @deceptive.design if ever I've seen one.

I really wish companies would ditch the easy subscribe HARD unsubscribe pattern... #darkpattern @deceptive.design whisky-me.com its 2025 guys come on, stop trying to screw us!

“Despite using neutral language that specifically did not mention integrating deceptive design patterns, every single AI-generated web page contained at least one such pattern, with an average of five per page.” www.fastcompany.com/91233844/cha...

Hey folks. I’ve been featured in this news article about a #darkpattern in Urban Company (an Indian Startup). Do give it a read if this is interesting for you 🙏 www.ndtv.com/feature/beng...

#Darkpattern from #Samsung trying to get us to agree to their thieving bullshit in their latest #privacypolicy update. The "I have read and agree" checkbox is not necessary, but it's made to look like it is... #bigtech #tracking #surveillancecapitalism At […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

TikTok violated the #DSA - again. We found: 🚨 48 NEW murky accounts impersonating Călin Georgescu 🚨 49 political ads, violating TikTok's own policy They were easy to find. So why wasn’t TikTok proactive⁉️ Details 👉 bit.ly/3OEOUza @stiftungmercator.bsky.social

We are @deceptive.design on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/deceptive.design

1/ Hey @hf.co NO. You do not have my consent to use my content and personal data to train your AI and ML models. If you believe my consent isn't needed, then I otherwise object. Also, have you deleted the data you obtained from BlueSky huggingface.co/datasets/blu...

Windows 11 is such ass why is my work PC giving me pop up suggestions to buy Black Ops 6

1/ I wonder how many folks joining BlueSky are aware of “The AT Protocol, which Bluesky is built on, is designed to support public conversations” .. bsky.social/about/blog/5... Is scraping their data to train AI acceptable? What rights apply? People want to be social without being ‘public’

The network technology giant Cisco offers to turn Wi-Fi access points installed in offices and other buildings into a system that tracks the location of employees, customers, smartphones, laptops and other devices for a wide range of purposes #workersurveillance I took a deep dive ⬇️ [thread]

Great writeup of Veronica Krauss and team’s work on #darkpatterns and #generativeai by @stokel.bsky.social! Such a timely paper and good to see it reaching a broader audience. www.fastcompany.com/91233844/cha...

The Meta thing is interesting because users have been vocally opposed to all these tweaks along the way & they have defended each one w/ metrics+engagement. But when there’s competition, people are moving. It’s a reminder that engagement ≠ enjoyment. Wonder what experts have to say about this ⬇️

FYI we will be deleting the content from this Twitter account at some point in the next few months, and moving everything that's worth keeping onto It's a shame given the enormous follower numbers we've gained over the years - but times have changed.

@deceptivepatterns.bsky.social Hi! Found after buying a railcard from Railcard.co.uk. Attention grabbed by "£20.87 cash back" and "Get your cashback" button. Small print at the bottom hints (but doesn't really make it clear) that you are signing up to have £18.00 pm removed from your card account.

FTC workshop 25 Feb 2025. ‘The Attention Economy: Monopolizing Kids’ Time Online’ “to examine the use of design features on digital platforms aimed at keeping kids, including teens, online longer and coming back more frequently.” www.ftc.gov/news-events/...

“LinkedIn is now using everyone's content to train their AI tool -- they just auto opted everyone in.” - Rachel Tobac (Sep 18, 2024) x.com/RachelTobac/...

Instagram users under 18 will automatically be subject to limitations on who can message them, how much “sensitive” content is recommended and who can see their profiles.

New: Snapchat is reserving the right to use your own, AI-generated likeness in ads that can then target you. The setting is on by default according to our tests www.404media.co/snapchat-res...

"Catalog of Dark Patterns Discover a variety of dark pattern examples, sorted by category, to better understand deceptive design practices." hallofshame.design/collection/#....

Love this deceptive pattern from Microsoft in which they bundle something many want (listing better jobs) with something else few people care about (ads). Are you ready for the same lack of enforcement with DMA consent that we are getting with the GDPR?

Yelp sues Google for antitrust violations - https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/28/24230905/yelp-google-antitrust-lawsuit

If anyone else is moving over to bluesky, we have an account there too: @deceptivepatterns.bsky.social Please say hi!

Hey folks! We’re the folks who run the website deceptive.design. Trying to reboot our social media thing here on Bluesky. Please say hi and tag us on relevant posts - it’s not easy starting again from zero!

New, from @pamherd.bsky.social & I: Biden-Harris unveiled an agenda to stop corporations from imposing excessive administrative burdens on the public. Here is what you need to know: donmoynihan.substack.com/p/about-time...

I don't use Word often, but when I do, it's because I have to. A few days ago I notice the Save function now defaults to OneDrive. I've no idea when that started, but it's NOT what I want and fixing that up every time I save is another unnecessary, but deliberate piece of Microsoft friction.

Meta uses “dark patterns” to thwart AI opt-outs in EU, complaint says EU Facebook users have until June 26 to opt out of AI training. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/06/meta-to-train-undefined-ai-tech-on-facebook-users-posts-pics-in-eu/

In Feb 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled in favour of protecting consumers against the preselection deceptive pattern used by WinRed - the donation platform used by the Trump campaign, pictured here. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca8/22-1238/22-1...

3 minute walkthrough of the Adobe deceptive subscription cancellation experience (aka “dark patterns”) by @harrybr The part about Adobe starts at 3 minutes in. https://youtu.be/Zmv7cRELFtM?feature=shared

“Show probable spam” Button label, between two posts about cryptocurrency.

“Adobe Swears It’s Not Training Its A.I. on Your Photoshops” BUT… Adobe has not made any changes to its ToS making this claim effectively worthless. https://slate.com/technology/2024/06/adobe-terms-use-backlash-licensing-royalty-generative-ai-creative-cloud.html

This is Facebook’s confirmation when you ask to see fewer posts of a particular type. “For a while” appears to be shorthand for “our algorithm doesn’t care how you feel about this sort of content, it may decide to show you it again soon and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

This video delves into the manipulation of players through engagement-based matchmaking and microtransactions, highlighting how games are designed to control player behaviour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJG2dli2LTg

Airbnb and http://Booking.com allowing illegal social housing sublets, say English councils Social housing providers claim platforms are refusing to cooperate with requests to remove illegally listed holiday lets 26 May 2024 https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/26/airbnb-and-...

"Drip pricing: what to do about the [UK] Digital Markets Competition and Consumer Bill today" by @timcaynes (May 2024) https://foolproof.co.uk/journal/drip-pricing-what-do-to-about-the-digital-markets-competition-and-consumer

Is it possible to wriggle around advertising laws and regs like this: 1. Allow advertisers to run ads containing false information 2. Present a footnote under these ads saying the information presented is not true? 3. Profit from the ad revenue

The FRIES acronym for consent: Freely given (no pressure) Reversible (changeable anytime) Informed (full knowledge) Enthusiastic (eager agreement) Specific (clear on what)

“Seatgeek charges 65% fees on tickets” https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/s/KeEMm5Hn3b

"Complete Savings TM.... a preferred partner of London Gatwick Airport" See if you can spot the deceptive patterns.

"my brother spent $4000 on robux without our parents consent" https://www.reddit.com/r/KidsAreFuckingStupid/comments/1d0u4sn/my_brother_spent_4000_on_robux_without_our/