How Apps Manipulate Your Privacy? Learn About Dark Patterns and How to Avoid Them

Smartphone in your pocket, app at your fingertips, shopping, banking, dating – everything online. We use it constantly, often without thinking about what's happening behind the scenes. Seemingly neutral buttons, checkboxes, or messages can hide more than meets the eye. We're increasingly encountering so-called dark patterns – cleverly designed interface elements aimed at manipulating user decisions. Learn what dark patterns are and how they affect your privacy. In this article, we'll show you what this digital illusion trick looks like, who uses it most often, and – most importantly – how not to get caught in this beautifully designed trap!

Dark patterns – what are they?

Dark patterns are user interface design techniques that mislead, confuse, or deliberately prompt users to take actions contrary to their original intent. In practice, this means difficulties in canceling subscriptions, hiding cookie consent rejection options, or manipulating button order in forms. Dark patterns under the guise of modern convenience manipulate our attention, emotions, and decisions. It seems like nothing major: one click, one swipe. Yet it costs us more than it appears.

Dark patterns – discover examples

The most commonly encountered dark patterns in UX are:

• Hidden consent – consent for personal data processing is automatically checked.
  

• Difficult cancellation (roach motel) – easy to activate something, but hard to cancel it.
  

• Fake urgency – messages like "Only 2 items left!" aimed at creating purchase pressure.
  

• Disguised ads – advertisements that look like part of the content, increasing the likelihood of clicking.

Manipulation in white gloves – real-life dark pattern examples

Clicked "yes" when you meant "no"? See how it happens. We'll show you several different examples. One of the more insidious techniques is confirmshaming, which involves shaming users for choosing differently than "expected." Ever encountered a button saying "No thanks, I prefer to overpay" when declining an offer? That's exactly it – subtle psychological pressure that makes you feel stupid for choosing what's better for you.

Another commonly encountered trick is so-called trick questions – questions formulated in such a convoluted way that mistakes are easy. Example? "Don't you want to unsubscribe from receiving notifications?". Pay attention to this, because one double negative and clicking "yes" might mean something completely opposite.

There's also the well-known bait and switch, the classic "they promised one thing, delivered another." You click "Download free e-book," and instead sign up for a newsletter with a daily dose of spam. Not what you expected? That was the point.

Or maybe you know the feeling when you want to cancel a service, but can't find the "cancel" option anywhere? That's the so-called roach motel – easy to enter, hard to leave. Registration takes a second, but cancellation requires an email to support, four clicks, and confirmation on two devices.

And finally – fake urgency, artificially created time pressure. Messages like "Only 2 items left!" or "Offer valid for 4 minutes" don't necessarily have anything to do with reality. Their job? To make you act quickly without thinking.

Dark patterns – why can they be dangerous?

From a cybersecurity and privacy protection perspective, dark patterns are a serious threat. Why? Because using these techniques leads to:

• Unknowingly sharing personal data, including sensitive data.
  

• Consent to tracking through cookies or analytics tools without users' full awareness.
  

• Feeling of lack of control over one's own choices and information.
  

• Loss of trust in applications, service providers, and brands.

We also recommend a popular post on the Sapsan blog: Phishing – how not to be fooled?

Dark patterns and the law – what does UOKiK say?

In Poland, UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) has taken interest in the dark patterns problem. In 2022, the office began numerous audits of e-commerce practices, identifying manipulative techniques as violations of consumers' collective interests. Such practices may be subject to sanctions, especially when they mislead consumers about price, service scope, or the possibility of contract withdrawal.

How to protect yourself?

Remember, dark patterns are no accident — they're a deliberate, thoughtful design approach that unfortunately works against you. The better we recognize them, the harder it is to manipulate us. That's why before you click "I agree" or "continue," pause for a moment. It might just be a button. Or maybe at this very moment, someone is cleverly taking control of your choice. Use tracker-blocking tools like uBlock Origin (limited functionality on Chrome from 2025, but still works great on Firefox) or Privacy Badger to prevent tracking of your online activity. Always change privacy settings in apps and services – don't accept default options without thoroughly reviewing them. And if you encounter practices that might violate your rights, report them to appropriate institutions like UOKiK or the Consumer Rights Ombudsman. Sometimes it's worth trying to be not just a user, but also a conscious observer.