Anti-User Practices: The Deceptive Patterns of Modern Websites and Software

Every time I brainstorm a new idea, I run into the same problem: deceptive patterns. It almost always happens when I get to monetisation. Hosting isn’t free, so websites and apps need to cover their costs somehow. But most of the advice out there feels predatory and anti-user, and it’s not something I’d want to deal with as a user.

What are deceptive patterns?

Deceptive patterns are design choices that push users into doing something they wouldn’t normally do, or don’t want to do.

You might have heard them called “dark patterns.” That term was coined back in 2010 by UX designer Harry Brignull, who has since switched to calling them deceptive patterns. I think the new name is better because it says exactly what they are. He keeps a catalogue of examples (plus legal cases where companies got caught) over at deceptive.design, and it’s well worth a browse if you want to see how widespread this stuff is.

Some you’ve almost certainly run into:

• Easy in, hard out. Signing up takes one click, but cancelling means digging through settings, filling out a survey, or phoning someone during business hours.
• Free trials that need your card. You “just” need to enter your card details, and it quietly rolls into a paid subscription unless you remember to cancel.
• Guilt-trip buttons. The opt-out reads “No thanks, I don’t like saving money” or “I’d rather stay uninformed.”
• Fake urgency. Countdown timers that reset when you refresh, or “only 2 left!” on something that’s never actually running out.
• Surprise fees at checkout. The price looks great until the last step, when booking fees, service fees and card surcharges get added on.
• Lopsided cookie banners. A big bright “Accept all” button next to a faint “Manage preferences” link that leads to 40 toggles.
• Email-gated results. You answer a pile of quiz questions, then have to hand over your email to see your results, and that email goes straight onto a marketing list.
• Rigged comparisons. Comparison sites rank results by which option earns them the most referral money, not by what suits you best.

Why companies use them

Revenue. Plain and simple.

Companies need reliable income to pay bills and staff. Solo creators selling websites or courses want steady income to cover their costs too. You can make money without deceptive patterns, but you can make a lot more by slowly working them in. The trick is to move slowly enough that existing users barely notice, and to offer discounts that pull new users in.

You’ve probably had this happen to you. You sign up for a free service and it’s great. Then a paid tier appears with features that would really help your workflow, and there’s a free trial or three months at a discount to hook you. Before long there’s another tier with more locked features. Sometimes features you already had get moved up a tier. By then the service is part of how you work, so you either budget for the higher tier or lose the feature you rely on. The prices keep going up, and so does the resentment.

That’s why I’d argue even tiered pricing can turn into a deceptive pattern. Charging for genuinely extra features is fair. Pulling useful features out of a plan people already pay for, just to sell them back, isn’t.

As someone who builds websites and apps, I get the appeal. These tactics work, and they make more money. What’s not to like about that? But on the receiving end, it feels like you’re being taken advantage of. It’s so much worse when it’s a service you actually need.

I fell for it too

When I started building things outside my day job, I bought into the “you need to build an email list” mantra. I’d just read Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Kagan, the creator of AppSumo. The book treats an email list as the most valuable thing you can have, because a list of people is a list of potential customers.

So I built Discover My Values with exactly that in mind. Warning: It’s heavily vibe coded (I was trying out Hostinger’s new Horizons AI builder), and you have to hand over your email to see your results. That’s the email gate from the list above. Something nagged at me even then. I hate using sites that do this. But here was someone who’d built an amazing business telling me this is what success looks like.

It might be the best way to grow. It just doesn’t sit right with me.

How I build now

These days, any time I’m collecting data, I stop and ask myself:

• Why am I collecting this?
• What will I actually use it for?
• Would I be comfortable giving this to another website?
• Would I be annoyed if I had to enter my email here?

If the answers make it feel predatory or frustrating, I drop it or tone it down. Sometimes there’s a real reason you need someone’s data, and that’s fine. But I:

• make any extra data optional
• never pre-tick a newsletter sign-up
• make “no thanks” a plain “no thanks,” not a guilt trip
• make leaving as easy as joining
• give users as much control over their data as I can

Basically, I try to keep things friction-free.

It won’t make me more money. But it won’t eat away at my conscience either, and that matters more to me.
Transparency and respect.

(Side tip: keep two email addresses. Use a public one for things you don’t care much about, like one-off competitions, quiz sites and real estate enquiries. Use a private one for the important stuff, like job applications and medical appointments.)

This post was edited with the help of our robot overlords - because my word vomit is hard to read.