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Comment by Kiro | Hacker News Reader

As long as it's opt-in I don't find it that creepy to be honest.

Facebook has a history of starting with opt-in and then making it opt-out and then over time making it harder to opt-out. It is a well established pattern.

Do you, or someone, have any data to back this up?

Honest question, I don't use Facebook so I can't tell from experience.

Facebook Messenger vs the main Facebook iOS app, for example?

You mean that time when "having the newsfeed app forces you to use the messaging app and vice versa" started out as forced, and then opt-out, and then opt-in? That seems like the /opposite/ of forcing people to use a given feature :P

(I see what you're trying to say, that people are forced to install two apps instead of installing one - I just disagree that having two separate apps is "forced" while having apps bundled together is "choice")

It's like the quick login feature on mobile, I enabled it once to try it, I can't manage to turn it off since then. It means when ever Facebook App is installed it will always automatically login ... So I end up installing it just when I need it.

The app ends up screwing up on my phone. https://touch.facebook.com/ works pretty well - with Chrome on Android it can even send me notifications.

I just fear that it will quickly become something that users just click "Okay" on automatically. A little like "Share your location". The minute something doesn't work as expected because the user didn't share a bit of information people will start just clicking on the "Ok" button.

What is the name of this dark pattern? It is very well executed by Google in Android these days.

> what is the name of this dark pattern

"Hobson's Choice"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobson%27s_choice

And of course the "no" button is labelled "Later". And there is no option to mute it forever. Google Play is trying to make me enter my mobile phone number on every single app update. Android is trying to let me scan all apps for security each time I use F-Droid. Those dialogs always appear and I can only discard them again and again until one day I might accidentally click "OK". Google is evil.

Even worse:

http://i.imgur.com/qsRdwaU.png

Google...

Mh true. But will it remain opt-in ?

If it's a big wall of legalise that regular users have to click past to get at Facebook, then that's hardly "opt-in".

It's a button you have to press: https://www.facebook.com/help/android-app/1499418503612943

Well, if your friend is with you and he/she enabled this "feature"...

How long, you think, for ON by default ?

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