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The definition of a dark pattern, with the academic and regulatory sources

Where the term "dark pattern" comes from, how researchers define it, and how regulators have adopted the definition.

4 min read·

The term originated with UX designer Harry Brignull (2010) and was formalized in academic research over the following decade.

Brignull catalogued specific examples on his website Dark Patterns (now Deceptive Design) starting in 2010. The first major academic taxonomy followed in Gray et al.'s 2018 ACM CHI paper:

Gray et al. proposed five strategies: "nagging, obstruction, sneaking, interface interference, and forced action." — Gray, C. M. et al. (2018). ACM CHI, Paper 534.

Mathur and colleagues' 2019 ACM CSCW paper extended this with seven empirically-derived categories and quantified prevalence across 11,000 shopping websites.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission adopted the term and a similar taxonomy in its 2022 staff report:

FTC staff report: "Dark patterns are design practices that trick or manipulate users into making choices they would not otherwise have made and that may cause harm." — Federal Trade Commission. (2022). Bringing Dark Patterns to Light: Staff Report.

The European Union's Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) explicitly prohibits dark patterns in Article 25, requiring that providers of online platforms do not design their online interfaces in a way that "deceives or manipulates the recipients of their service."

How to identify one

The convergent definition across these sources has three elements: (1) a UX choice that benefits the company at the user's expense, (2) the choice would not be made by a user given the same information presented neutrally, (3) the design exploits a known cognitive bias or constraint.

If a UX choice meets all three, it is a dark pattern as the academic and regulatory literature defines it — actionable in many jurisdictions, increasingly enforced.

References

  • Brignull, H. (2010). Dark Patterns (later renamed Deceptive Design). deceptive.design.
  • Gray, C. M. et al. (2018). ACM CHI, Paper 534.
  • Mathur, A. et al. (2019). ACM CSCW, 3(CSCW), Article 81.
  • U.S. FTC. (2022). Bringing Dark Patterns to Light.
  • European Union. (2022). Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on a Single Market for Digital Services (Digital Services Act), Article 25.

Related: Dark patterns · Hidden cancel button · Loss aversion · Click-to-cancel law

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