Have you discovered a dark pattern? - Help us to expand our collection!
Enter the website or app concerned in the form below and/or add pictures and a description.
By collecting examples, we want to further refine our categorizations and work out commonalities to make dark patterns more visible to users. This is the basis for the planned Dark Pattern Detection App (more information), which, similar to an ad blocker, is supposed to detect dark patterns and block them if necessary.
Dark patterns occur in all digital interfaces and user experiences, especially in apps and on websites.
We do not process any personal data. Therefore, we only accept material that does not contain personal information. All other submissions will be deleted immediately and permanently.
If the screenshots you use contain personal data, please make them unrecognizable, e.g. with an image editing program. Otherwise, we will not be able to include the Dark Pattern in our collection.
Once you may have detected a dark pattern, try to document each step. Dark patterns can appear isolated on a page or they can result from the context, e.g. from a click path or several consecutive actions or pages. Try to take a screenshot (see below) before you take further action. Often, actions/clicks once made cannot be undone and thus cannot be documented.
If you have discovered a potential dark pattern, feel free to contact us. It is a new phenomenon with no obvious rights or wrongs. Dark patterns may also result from their context (the user experience), e.g. from a click path or several consecutive actions or pages.
The following definition can serve as a guideline: „Dark patterns are design patterns that lead users in the digital world to actions that run against their actual interests.“
Apple
Press [Shift ⇧] + [Cmd ⌘] + [3]. The screenshot is automatically named and saved as a PNG file on your desktop. The file's name is usually “Screenshot [date; time] ”, in which [date; time] denote the recording moment.
Windows
Option 1: Press [Windows] + [Shift] + [S] simultaneously. Now, the screen turns slightly grey and you can select an area to screenshot. The resulting image is automatically saved in the clipboard and can be copied into a file using e.g. “Paint”, or opened directly by clicking on the appearing notification.
Option 2: Press [Print] + [Windows] simultaneously. This will open up a notification informing you about the screenshot on the clipboard.
