Dark patterns – deceptive designs that steer users into unintended actions – erode the trust that is essential to a healthy internet. To better understand this problem, we moved beyond rigid technical definitions to ask a simple question: How do people actually experience and perceive these designs?
We surveyed 12,000 consumers across six European countries (Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and Poland) and learned that while most were not familiar with the term "dark patterns", they have strong, consistent intuitions about what feels manipulative. We found that context and consequences are what matter most. For example, a pre-selected checkbox for a free newsletter is perceived very differently than one for a paid subscription, confirming that dark patterns causing direct financial harm are viewed as the most deceptive.
Based on these insights, we propose a more user-centric framework to assess designs by evaluating four key factors:
This approach helps distinguish harmful dark patterns from regular design. It allows for a more nuanced assessment of severity by considering the magnitude of the impact, the deceptiveness of the mechanism, and the divergence between user and design goals. By focusing on the user experience, we believe we can help to build a more transparent and trustworthy online environment for everyone.
You can find further detail on our research and proposed taxonomy in this whitepaper.