https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/fair-trading/dark-patterns Skip to navigation Skip to content NSW Government logo menu Open Menu MyServiceNSW account iconMyServiceNSW MyServiceNSW account iconLogged in * MyServiceNSW * Manage account * Logout of MyServiceNSW NSW Government logo close Close Menu * Living in NSW keyboard_arrow_right NSW Government logo close Close Menu keyboard_arrow_left Living in NSWBack to previous menu Living in NSWeast + Aboriginal information and services + Community services + Driving, boating and transport + Education and training + Emergency + Environment, land and water + Family and relationships + Grants and funding + Health and wellbeing + Housing and construction + Legal and justice + Life Events + Regional and primary industries + Visas and migration Popular right now + NSW school holidayseast + NSW public holidayseast + NSW Governmenteast + NSW Digital IDeast Living in NSW * Working and business keyboard_arrow_right NSW Government logo close Close Menu keyboard_arrow_left Working and businessBack to previous menu Working and businesseast + Aboriginal information and services + Business and economy + Business advice and support + Education and training + Employment + Grants and funding + Money and taxes + Visas and migration Popular right now + NSW skills listseast + Department of Customer Service careerseast + Working interstateeast Working and business * What's happening keyboard_arrow_right NSW Government logo close Close Menu keyboard_arrow_left What's happeningBack to previous menu What's happeningeast + About NSW + Arts and culture + Events in NSW + Visiting and exploring NSW + NSW public holidays + NSW school holidays Popular right now + NSW map catalogueeast + Visit Sydneyeast + Visit regional NSWeast + Walks near meeast What's happening * Have your say * Easy Read 1. Home 2. Departments and agencies 3. Fair Trading 4. Dark patterns Dark patterns: tricks to make you spend more online Dark patterns are tactics websites or apps use to nudge, manipulate or trick you into spending more money than you'd planned or providing personal data that's not needed. This page describes common dark patterns you will encounter online, so you can identify and avoid them when shopping online. Listen Couple sitting at table doing online shopping together on a mobile phone. On this page What to look out for when shopping online Hidden costs Hidden costs are extra costs you only find out about towards the end of your purchase, or which are made less obvious. They include pre-selected extras you may not want and add-ons presented so you feel you have to buy them. Some hidden costs are even sneakier, such as a pre-selected free trial period for a service that renews automatically if you don't cancel before it ends - charging your card for an ongoing membership. Trick questions Trick questions are used to lead you to make choices that are in the business's interests and not necessarily in yours. They are commonly used for subscriptions, auto-purchase agreements and data collection (particularly those innocent-sounding cookies - information a website stores about you when you visit). For example, if you're trying to cancel a subscription, you may be faced with a confusing question that asks if you really want to cancel and gives you 2 options: 'Continue' or 'Cancel'. This may be intentionally unclear, where 'Continue' means continuing the cancellation process and 'Cancel' means stopping the cancellation process. You may then think you've cancelled the subscription until you are charged another subscription fee. Similarly, a request to accept website cookies or data collection may have a big, bold button to accept, and a much smaller, discrete 'Manage your cookies' link. Or the website may give you the option to accept the cookies or to go to the cookie policy, but never give you the option to opt out of having cookies track your activities. Scarcity cues Scarcity cues are designed to create a fear of missing out, which pushes you to make rushed decisions about buying or spending more than you planned. Examples are countdown timers for shopping carts or notifications about discount prices and low stock e.g. 'Only 4 left'. Activity notifications Activity notifications tell you what other people are doing on a website or app e.g. 'Someone in Oakey just bought the You Beaut Swag' or '15 people are currently looking at this hotel room'. These notifications will appear seconds apart and often be bundled with scarcity cues to create or enhance a sense of urgency. The activity described may be fake, or they could be real purchases from within a long period that are set to repeat on the website to suggest constant business. Confirm shaming Confirm shaming is loaded language designed to make you feel silly or worried if you don't agree to buying a product or service. This dark pattern usually appears on subscription offers and larger purchases. For example, an online shop you're browsing might offer you a 10% discount on your next purchase if you subscribe to their newsletter. Instead of giving you 'Yes' or 'No' options, you're faced with 'I'd love a discount!' and 'No thanks, I prefer to pay full price'. Similarly, you might be offered an after-purchase care plan and the options are to tick 'Yes please, I'll feel better knowing I have that protection' or 'No thanks, I'll take my chances'. Forced continuity Forced continuity refers to subscriptions that are easy to sign up to, but hard to get out of. You may only have to provide basic details to subscribe for a product or service, but to cancel you may need to go through multiple steps online or even have to phone the company and progress through attempts to talk you out of it. Forced continuity is sometimes combined with hidden costs. Data grabs A data grab is when businesses ask you for more information than they need to process your request and often more than you're comfortable giving. Have you ever had to provide your full name and postcode when subscribing to a newsletter? Or had to provide your date of birth for a purchase? That's a data grab and you should be concerned about what the business plans to do with your information and how securely are they storing it. Learn about a business's responsibilities when collecting and storing customer information. Disguised advertisements Disguised advertisements are often 'clickbait' - a headline or link, which may be sensationalised or misleading, designed to attract your attention and make you click through to online content. They are designed to look like genuine content or search results on a website that will instead redirect you to a product or service. False hierarchy False hierarchy tactics are designed to nudge you towards the business's preferred product or service they provide. The business's preference is generally displayed prominently using attractive colours, while the least preferred option can be presented in smaller font or in subtle or dull colours. Redirection or nagging Businesses use redirection or nagging tactics to continuously move you away from the task you want to complete, such as trying to leave their website after browsing without buying. Redirection or nagging often appear as pop-ups to encourage you to subscribe or set up an account to receive a discount, and in some cases you may get a series of pop-ups, one after another. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Examples of dark patterns Laptop screen with text 'only 1 left' and an alert image with text '34 people are currently looking at this'. crop_originalClick to Expand FT dark patterns: activity notifications Laptop screen showing heading 'subscribe to healthy life'. Beneath is a field for an email address and a subscribe button. Further below the button is a link with the text 'no thanks, I don't want a healthier life'. crop_originalClick to Expand FT dark patterns: confirm shaming Laptop screen with text fields stating 'full name' and 'date of birth' with a subscribe button crop_originalClick to Expand FT dark patterns: data grabs Laptop screen showing heading 'news' with an article highlighted with heading 'discounted mobile phones for sale'. crop_originalClick to Expand FT dark patterns: disguised advertisements Laptop screen showing text 'your cart' with 3 pop up windows with text 'don't go! You left items in your cart' crop_originalClick to Expand FT dark patterns: nagging Laptop screen showing online shopping cart with a bunch of flowers priced at $60. Next to the flowers is a cost summary listing item price as $60 plus surcharge cost, shipping cost and taxes bringing the total cost of the item to $90 crop_originalClick to Expand FT dark patterns: hidden costs Laptop screen showing text title 'cancel subscription' with process steps from step 1 to step 28. crop_originalClick to Expand FT dark patterns: forced continuity Laptop screen showing heading 'plans' with three buttons below stating 'premium $200', 'Advanced $100' and 'basic $50'' crop_originalClick to Expand FT dark patterns: false hierarchy Laptop screen showing text question 'cancel membership?' with two buttons with text 'yes, keep my account' and 'no, cancel my account'. crop_originalClick to Expand FT dark patterns: trick questions Laptop screen showing text 30 percent off with countdown timer and button with text stating claim now. crop_originalClick to Expand Dark patterns: scarcity cues Close(Press escape to close)keyboard_arrow_up Laptop screen with text 'only 1 left' and an alert image with text '34 people are currently looking at this'. Laptop screen showing heading 'subscribe to healthy life'. Beneath is a field for an email address and a subscribe button. Further below the button is a link with the text 'no thanks, I don't want a healthier life'. Laptop screen with text fields stating 'full name' and 'date of birth' with a subscribe button Laptop screen showing heading 'news' with an article highlighted with heading 'discounted mobile phones for sale'. Laptop screen showing text 'your cart' with 3 pop up windows with text 'don't go! You left items in your cart' Laptop screen showing online shopping cart with a bunch of flowers priced at $60. Next to the flowers is a cost summary listing item price as $60 plus surcharge cost, shipping cost and taxes bringing the total cost of the item to $90 Laptop screen showing text title 'cancel subscription' with process steps from step 1 to step 28. Laptop screen showing heading 'plans' with three buttons below stating 'premium $200', 'Advanced $100' and 'basic $50'' Laptop screen showing text question 'cancel membership?' with two buttons with text 'yes, keep my account' and 'no, cancel my account'. Laptop screen showing text 30 percent off with countdown timer and button with text stating claim now. keyboard_arrow_up --------------------------------------------------------------------- Related information * Be a smart consumer * Types of scams and cybercrime * Complaints and enquiries Contact NSW Fair Trading Online: Complaints and enquiries Phone: 13 32 20 (Monday to Friday, 8:30am-5pm) In-person: find a service centre Follow NSW Fair Trading Follow us on social media. * Facebook * Linkedin * Youtube Subscribe to our eNewsletters Stay up to date with the latest news, advice, and resources from NSW Fair Trading. 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