Online service providers like Amazon have drawn attention for their manipulative tactics to prevent users from cancelling subscriptions, say these Western University IT researchers.
code-named the drawn-out process of cancelling Prime as “Iliad”. This, as the complaint points out, alludes to the ancient Greek epic about the long and arduous Trojan War.
Dark patterns play a key role in keeping users active on social media - despite their intentions and efforts to leave. social media sites also routinely make it difficultThe Language and Information Technology Research Lab at the University of Western Ontario studies deceptive, inaccurate and misleading information practices. We collected data from 25 social media sites, drawn from a list of the 50 most popular ones in May 2020.
One site simply provided no option in the interface for the user to disable their account, and warned that requests for account disabling would not be considered by the site administrators . Fifteen sites relied on more transparent efforts to convince the user to reconsider, often by employing language and visuals that induced fear, guilt or doubt - such as sad faces, large red warning labels and proclamations that “It would be a shame to see you go!” .
Our research can help people resist the dark patterns thwarting their attempts to quit social media in several ways.First, drawing attention to these practices can inform users of common strategies and recommend helpful resources. The website Just Delete Me, for instance, collects direct links to account-disabling pages for numerous online services.
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