Dark Pattern
Encyclopedia

a design pattern where signing up takes seconds but cancelling requires phone calls, retention specialists, cooling-off periods, and the patience of a Benedictine monk

free trials that transition to paid subscriptions without meaningful notification, relying on users forgetting to cancel before an obscure deadline

checkboxes and toggles worded so confusingly — often with double negatives — that users cannot determine whether checking means opting in or opting out

using visual design — color, size, placement, contrast — to direct user attention toward a company-preferred action while making the user-preferred action visually subordinate or difficult to locate

adding items, services, or donations to a user's cart without explicit selection — through pre-selection, default opt-ins, or obscured checkboxes — requiring active removal to avoid purchase