What is Dark Pattern?
A user-interface trick designed to nudge you into choices you didn't mean to make.
A dark pattern is a deliberately deceptive design choice — a pre-checked box, a hidden unsubscribe link, a 'no thanks, I hate saving money' button, a cancellation flow buried behind ten screens. The interface isn't confusing by accident; it's engineered to extract a click, a subscription, or a fee.
Common species: confirmshaming, forced continuity (easy to start, brutal to cancel), sneaking items into carts, fake countdown timers, and 'roach motels' you can enter but not leave.
Awareness is the antidote: slow down at any screen designed to rush you, read what's pre-selected, and remember that a design making it hard to say no is telling you something about the company behind it.
Related terms
Definitions from the Business Dog Glossary — educational, occasionally satirical, never financial advice.