Subscription services use "dark patterns" to manipulate users, new research shows. Dark patterns have been shown to influence customer behavior regarding subscription to services and sharing of personal data. This is not surprising since these services live and die based on subscriber acquisition and retention, but it is still a bit concerning to see the extent to which it is happening. [Reporting from the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network (ICPEN) and the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN), ICPEN reviewed 642 websites and mobile apps with subscriptions and found that almost 76% of the platforms had one dark pattern in found to be in use. Some services used more than one dark pattern, with 68% of websites and apps using more than one dark pattern.

The most used dark pattern is sneaking, which makes it harder for companies to find potentially harmful information. For example, ICPEN reports that 81% of services with auto-renewing subscriptions had removed the ability to disable auto-renewal at the time of purchase. This means the extra hassle of deactivating auto-renewal after purchase. Presumably, the services want their customers to forget about it.

Aside from tricks to get people to subscribe for longer periods of time, GPEN ran several tests to see how personal information is extracted. It found that almost all of the 1,000 websites and apps tested used deceptive design practices to obtain user information.

A common dark pattern used to get users to agree to provide information is interface interference. In total, 57% of websites and apps manipulated the interface to make the least protective privacy options the easiest to select, essentially steering users in the direction they wanted.

It is easy to fall into these traps by tying yourself to a subscription or giving away more information than you need.

When signing up for something, know how to cancel the service before committing to anything. Even if you didn't have the option to stop auto-renewal when you signed up, make sure you know how to cancel the service if you don't need it later.

Also, if you are asked to provide personal information, take some time to read it to determine what you need to give up and what they are trying to make you give up.