Dark Patterns: weird website review & sites like it

Dark Patterns is a short, interactive walk through manipulative design tricks. You are shown the kind of interface choices that are built to catch you out: extra items slipped into your cart, guilt-tripping messages when you try to unsubscribe, buttons that make the option you want hard to find. Each example is something you have probably clicked on without noticing.

Because you are clicking through the traps yourself, it lands in a way an article would not. You feel the annoyance of the trick, then see it named and explained. The mix of humor and mild irritation is deliberate, and it is hard to look at a checkout page the same way afterward.

It is a Neal Agarwal project on neal.fun and works on phones. It takes about five minutes and is genuinely useful, since knowing what a dark pattern looks like is the first step to resisting one. Good for designers, shoppers and anyone who has ever failed to find the cancel button.

Tips for getting the most out of it

Click through every example; each one teaches something.
Share it with someone who designs interfaces.
Notice the patterns the next time you shop online.

Questions about Dark Patterns

What is Dark Patterns by Neal.fun?

It is an interactive page that shows manipulative design tricks such as hidden extras in a cart and guilt-tripping unsubscribe messages. You experience each one and then see it explained. You can find it at neal.fun, and odd-sites.com lists it as a five-minute visit.

What is a dark pattern?

A dark pattern is a design choice that nudges or tricks people into doing something they did not intend, like buying an extra or keeping a subscription. The page shows examples so you can recognize them. We check the link daily, so you can see whether it is still alive.