Dark patterns are the digital equivalent of mousetraps: deceptive, insidious, often so well camouflaged that users only realize they’ve been caught when it’s too late.

Their origins lie in the dark art of persuasive design, that murky area of UX/UI where design stops being empathetic and becomes manipulative. The term “dark pattern” was coined in 2010 by Harry Brignull, a user experience expert who decided to expose those practices that turn navigation into an obstacle course with the sole purpose of confusing, pushing purchases, or keeping users trapped against their will. They are the offspring of unbridled digital capitalism and the culture of “maximize at all costs” where ethics are often left behind.

Let’s take a step back to the golden age of mail subscriptions: a classic trick was making it incredibly easy to sign up while canceling required navigating a bureaucratic labyrinth. The same principle has since been adopted in the digital world with subscriptions that automatically renew, cancelation links hidden in the depths of settings, and interfaces designed to challenge human patience. Amazon’s “Prime account Iliad” is a prime example: in 2021, the Norwegian Consumer Council denounced the excessive complexity of canceling a Prime membership, a process deliberately convoluted. But it doesn’t stop there. Think about interfaces that entice users to click on brightly colored, inviting buttons to accept cookies, while the “reject all” option is hidden away in tiny gray text, as if it were a radioactive disclaimer.

The real question is: do these tricks actually work? In the short term, yes, because they exploit impulsivity, decision fatigue, and users’ limited attention. But in the long run? This is where things get interesting. People learn, they get frustrated, and they often react by abandoning services, leaving negative reviews, or, in the worst cases, filing lawsuits.

In 2022, Epic Games had to shell out $245 million for using dark patterns in Fortnite, which tricked players—many of them children—into making unintended purchases. The EU and the FTC in the United States are beginning to set boundaries, with increasingly strict regulations against these practices.

So what’s the alternative? If the goal is to create an experience that truly works, the right approach is clarity, fairness, and respect for the user. A well-designed interface should guide, not coerce; it should persuade with transparency, not trickery. Some brands are getting the message: Apple, for example, has made controlling personal data far more accessible than its competitors, earning trust instead of suspicion. Accessibility and usability are not optional; they are the only way to build digital experiences that not only work but also foster loyalty. Because trust, unlike metrics inflated by cheap tricks, cannot be reset with an update.