Ask HN: Are app signup dark patterns getting worse? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Are app signup dark patterns getting worse?

46 pointss17n22 comments

In the last couple months, I've accidentally signed up for both Robinhood Gold and Lyft Pink. I have no idea how the Gold signup happened, but I definitely remember the egregious Lyft Pink signup modal that made the signup button seem like it was just part of the flow of unlocking a bike, every single time.

Is it just me, or are these things getting worse? Have these companies just discovered that there are no repercussions to this behavior, or have they collapsed to the point where the short-term incentives of their decision makers aren't aligned with the companies' long term interests?

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Whether over months or years, they have certainly gotten worse. It is a race to the bottom or to 1 micrometer above the legal red line if one should ever be established.

CFPB and FTC talked about it: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/compliance/circulars/consume...

Summary of comparable talk in the EU: https://www.insideprivacy.com/eu-data-protection/the-eu-stan...

Down in the details, it looks like there has been enforcement in individual cases, but it obviously was not enough to stop the flood.

American business has become about violating the the spirit of the law as egregiously as possible while remaining technically legal.

An environment demanding constant growth can only lead to skirting all possible sources of profit. Including maximizing exploitation (gig economy) and pushing the boundaries of legality.

Measuring only profit leads to systems that destroy and corrupt everything in the interest of profit. Enshittification is in the genetic code of late stage capitalism.

Turns out constant growth without rule bending is kinda hard and basing your expectations on it is a bad idea.

Haha who could have known!

There's nothing particularly American about it. It just happens there first, in the incubator of capitalism.

Both companies are American, as am I, so I'm speaking to my experience, but you're right, it's a rather global phenomena. Greed is a universal human trait, as are xenophobia, racism, and elitism. There's some good traits in the mix too of course. Can't say you naming yourself after a serial killer inspires me though.

But I also named myself after a cuddly little creature!

Uber charged me $90 for a subscription. Haven’t used the app for a year or paid this before.

The fight to this is opting out of as much as possible.

These are companies, even as monopolies or cartels, that tremble in fear of losing even 1-2% revenue, because the means the illusion of perpetual growth is broke and the execs can't strike their options.

Buy less. Get by with less. Buy used. Buy generic. Consume less. Sleep more. Read more. Exercise. Cook. Walk or bike.

An interesting breakdown article from last year:

How companies use dark patterns to keep you subscribed

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35815765

Yes I had canceled Reddit Gold and yet somehow they just renewed it. They ignored my emails asking for a refund.

I highly reccomend using a service like privacy.com for online subscriptions. You can generate a separate card for each service and cancel them on command whenever you want to quit.

It's refreshing not having to worry about a service charging for another month due to some dark pattern or bug when you try to cancel.

For the past month I've been getting emails that chegg has been repeatedly trying to charge the card I deactivated, feels nice never having to worry about one of them going through.

This is a huge relief. I had it in my head they had gone away! Thanks a zillion!

I recently been on a shopping website from the UK it used multiple dark patterns some of which have been forbidden under EU law.

I still wonder if they just decided to f* it because they don't have to follow those rules anymore.

It's probably still UK law unless it was specifically repealed. EU Directives were implemented in terms of national law, and EU Regulations were directly implemented and considered passed automatically if parliament didn't stop them.

On the web? On mobile wouldn't you have to encounter a system payment flow that would be impossible to miss?

Lyft already had the ability to charge my credit card, as they do for almost everyone I assume. Robinhood actually just deducted the amount from my balance and then sent me a "you have negative cash in your account please add funds or we will sell positions to cover" message, which is a bit bonkers in itself.

Hmm I guess it's tricky with these two because they can get around in-app payment for their core business. Sneaky!

It's not fundamentally necessary, old-school predatory businesses like Columbia House were able to survive without an automatic way to collect on debts.

dude this is my life now. makes me wanna throw my phone every once in a while.

Here is why: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39300863

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