Deceptive designs in UX : investigating the impact of dark patterns

Abstract

Internet and mobile application users often encounter manipulative strategies that lead them to share excessive personal information or trap them into challenging subscriptions. These tactics, referred to as dark patterns, offer commercial advantages to system owners at the user's expense. This research conducts a literature review, examining previous studies on dark patterns, design ethics, and user experience. The purpose of this research is to answer the research question: how the dark design patterns affect the user experience.

Research on dark design patterns is crucial in order to understand how the dark patterns impact the users of different interaction systems, and how to design systems without using such exploitative patterns. This study aims to identify and comprehend prevalent dark patterns recognized by the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community. To support the understanding of the impact of the dark patterns, the research also attempts to define what is meant by User Experience and discusses the metrics for defining the quality of the experience.

The findings of this research hold potential value for individuals within the HCI community investigating the impact of dark design patterns on user experience. Despite the limitations of being based on a small number of references and conducted by a single researcher, this study offers an insightful overview of the current dark patterns prevalent on the internet.