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Do not trick users into sign-ups, even when it works

Oct 10
3 min read

Updated: Oct 11

Hiroshige woodblock print of foxes with ghost fires under a tree at night, 1857
Fox Fires on New Year's Eve at the Changing Tree, Ōji, from Utagawa Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1857). In old stories, foxes trick travelers with false lights. Some screens do the same.

A few small tricks in a sign-up flow can more than double the number of people who say yes.


The study. Jamie Luguri and Lior Strahilevitz ran 2 large online experiments with US adults. Participants got an offer for an identity-theft protection plan of doubtful value. Some participants saw dark patterns, which are designs that confuse users or push them to say yes.


The finding. In Study 1, 11.3% of the control group accepted the plan. With mild dark patterns, 25.8% accepted. With aggressive dark patterns, 41.9% accepted, but these participants were much more annoyed.

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