What Are “Dark Patterns” in Mobile Apps and How They Manipulate Consumers

The ongoing Supreme Court case filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) against Patanjali Ayurved for publishing advertisements criticising the allopathic system of medicine has opened the proverbial Pandora’s box.

At first, the case concerns certain claims Patanjali has made about the efficacy of its herbal products and allopathic system of medicine. However, the case also highlights a common trend of companies across the country using misleading and deceptive marketing practices that seem to be the norm.

A recently published study, Conscious Patterns, conducted by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and design firm Parallel HQ, found that 52 out of 53 apps analyzed used deceptive design practices (also known as “dark patterns”), indicating their widespread use in the industry and their potential to manipulate customers.

So what are dark or deceptive patterns? They are essentially deceptive user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) practices that can mislead or trick users into doing something they did not originally intend or want to do.

Top 5 Fraudulent Practices Used in Mobile Apps

Privacy Scam: Manipulating users into unknowingly sharing more personal information than they intended emerged as the most prevalent fraudulent pattern, seen in 79 percent of the apps analyzed.

Interface interference: In this case, certain parts of the interface are highlighted (such as cashback offers) and others are hidden (such as marketing email subscriptions), misleading users into taking action. This was detected in 45 percent of apps.

Drip prices: Additional fees are gradually revealed during the checkout process, making the final price higher than originally quoted. This was found in 43 percent of apps, most often when booking airlines, hotels, or ordering food/clothing from e-commerce sites, where platform fees and packaging charges are added during bill payment.

False urgency: Where a sense of artificial pressure, based on time or stock availability, is created to manipulate users into making rash decisions. For example, “Only a few spots available” or “Sale ends in 30 minutes.”

Nagging: Constant pop-ups and notifications encourage consumers to take action, making it harder to get things done.

Top Fraud Trends Common to a Sector

1. Making it difficult for users to delete their accounts. Found in all the e-commerce apps we tested, including Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Bigbasket, Nykaa, AJIO, Meesho, Tata CLIQ, and TIRA.

2. Cart-stealing, or adding something to a user’s cart/basket without their knowledge. This was four times more common in delivery and logistics apps, including Swiggy, Zepto, Zomato, BlinkIt, and Borzo, compared to other sectors.

3. The top three sectors with the highest number of fraudulent patterns per app are health tech (8.8), travel bookings (7.2), and e-commerce (5.3).

4. Four out of five health technology companies analyzed used time pressure, creating a false sense of urgency to rush users into making decisions.

5. Confirm shaming, where guilt or social pressure is used to manipulate users into confirming an action. It has been used across all travel booking apps.

The report analyzed more than 12,000 screens from 53 apps that were downloaded more than 21 billion times across nine industries.

In November 2023, the Department of Consumer Affairs published guidelines on 13 deceptive patterns. According to these guidelines, the use of any of these prescribed dark patterns amounts to misleading advertising, unfair trade practice or a violation of consumer rights.

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