7 Best Articles on Dark Patterns
The most useful articles on dark patterns from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Dark Patterns Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved on dark patterns by Refind users in 2023 so far.
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles on dark patterns—all under 10 minutes.
Dark Patterns that Mislead Consumers Are All Over the Internet
Think you can tell a dark pattern from an ethically designed prompt? Take our quiz to find out
«dark pattern—design choices that steer people into decisions they may not have made under normal conditions.»
Dark patterns, the tricks websites use to make you say yes, explained
How design can manipulate and coerce you into doing what websites want.
«“I think the internet has made it easier to industrialize the way in which we persuade and, in turn, manipulate and deceive each other,”»
Figma is using dark patterns to charge you more.
Are you being tricked and overcharged by them too?
The Universe’s Oldest Light Reveals Unprecedented Dark Matter Patterns
Scientists glimpsed the distribution of dark matter around galaxies 12 billions of years ago, which is much earlier than previous studies.
How Facebook and Other Sites Manipulate Your Privacy Choices
Social media platforms repeatedly use so-called dark patterns to nudge you toward giving away more of your data.
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles on dark patterns.
Dark Patterns And Other Design No-Nos For Mobile
The mobile web is a booming place right now, which means web designers are spending lots of time trying to figure out how to win over this particular class of users. One way not to do that? Dark patterns. While your company may get some superficial and short-term gains in the process, nothing good will come from it in the long-run.
Dark Patterns are designed to trick you (and they’re all over the Web)
No, it's not only you—some user interfaces today intentionally want to confuse and enroll.
Publications
We monitor hundreds of publications, blogs, newsletters, and news sources in Dark Patterns, including:
UX Collective
Curated stories on user experience, usability, and product design. By @fabriciot and @caioab.
Smashing Magazine 🇺🇦 🏳️🌈
An online magazine for designers and web developers. Questions? We've got your back: @SmashingSupport, @SmashingConf. Curated by Iris, Vitaly and the team.
The Markup
We're watching Big Tech. Send tips: http://themarkup.org/tips. Subscribe: http://mrkup.org/Klaxon. Support our work: http://themarkup.org/donate. Mastodon: http://newsie.social/@themarkup
Vox
Understand the news. Support Vox with a contribution: http://vox.com/give-now
Fast Company
Inspiring readers to think beyond traditional boundaries & create the future of business. Subscribe to our daily newsletter: http://fastcompany.com/newsletters
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Which sources does Refind monitor on dark patterns?
We monitor hundreds of sources on dark patterns, including UX Collective, Smashing Magazine 🇺🇦 🏳️🌈, The Markup, Vox, Fast Company, and many more.
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