Dark web design and manipulation: how it’s getting you to click
Pup-ups, web cookies, and more
App design
Manipulating users for commercial gain isn’t just used on websites. Currently, more than95% of Android appson the Google Play store are free to download and use. Creating these apps is an expensive business, requiring teams of designers, developers, artists, and testers. But designers know that they’ll recoup this investment once we’re hooked on their “free” apps – and they do it using dark design.
Inrecent researchanalyzing free app-based games that are popular with today’s teenagers, my colleague and I identified dozens of examples of dark design. Users are forced to watch adverts and frequently encounter disguised adverts that look like part of the game. They’re prompted to share posts on social media and, as their friends join the game, are prompted to make in-app purchases to differentiate their character from those of their peers.
Some of this psychological manipulation seems inappropriate for younger users. Teenage girls’ susceptibility to peer influence is exploited to encourage them to buy clothes for in-game avatars. Some games promote unhealthy body imagery while others actively demonstrate andencourage bullyingthrough indirect aggression between characters.
There are mechanisms to protect young users from psychological manipulation, such as age rating systems,codes of practice, and guidance that specifically prohibits the use of dark design. But these rely on developers understanding and interpreting this guidance correctly and, in the case of theGoogle Play Store, developersvet their own workand it’s up to users to report any issues.My researchindicates that these measures are not yet proving entirely effective.
Shedding light
The problem with dark design is that it’s difficult to spot. And dark patterns, which are established in every developer’s toolbox, spread fast. They’re hard for designers to resist when free apps and websites are competing for our attention, judged on metrics like “time on page” and the “user conversion rate”.
So while cookie banners are annoying and often dishonest, we need to consider the broader implications of an online ecosystem that is increasingly manipulative by design. Dark design is used to influence our decisions about our time, our money, our personal data and our consent. But a critical understanding of how dark patterns work, and what they’re hoping to achieve, can help us detect and overcome their trickery.
Google had not replied to a request for comment on this story by the time it was published
Article byDaniel Fitton, Reader in User Experience Design,University of Central Lancashire
This article is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Story byThe Conversation
An independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists.An independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.
