Using Dark Patterns for good

It was so frustratingly difficult to find the “sign out” button on Gmail that my father finally gave up and left himself signed in forever. Independent UX consultant Harry Brignull found the iOS ad tracking so difficult to turn off that he described it as “hidden.” And just last month, author Paul Brooks called out the company Twifficiency for neglecting to tell users that they were spamming their followers just by signing up.

What do these all have in common? They’re dark patterns, an astonishing—but nonetheless surprising—way to learn more about good design.

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