CODEXCard 6 of 8 · Hidden Architectures of Daily Life
Dark patterns (Designed Friction)
Some friction is deliberate. Notice when it appears.
Dark patterns are interface tricks that work against the user, and designed friction is one of the most common. A company makes it effortless to start a subscription, create an account or add an item, then fills the way out with extra steps, hidden menus, guilt-laden messages or mandatory calls.
The motive is retention. Every extra hurdle at the exit loses some share of people who would have left, which keeps revenue flowing a little longer. Because the cost of leaving rises only slightly at each step, it rarely feels outrageous in the moment. The giveaway is the asymmetry. When joining took thirty seconds online and leaving needs a letter, someone designed that gap.
The mistake is calling every hurdle a trick. Some friction protects you, such as a confirmation before deleting years of photos or a short delay before a large bank transfer. That kind of friction serves the user, and it usually appears on both entry and exit. The test is simple: is this step there to protect me, or to keep me paying?
Designed friction is the reverse of the convenience trap. Together they show how effort is moved around, removed where a company wants you to go forward and added where it wants you to stay.
Example
You sign up for a meal kit trial with one tap on your phone. To cancel, the app sends you to a website, which asks you to survey your reasons, then offers three discounts, then says cancellation takes effect after the next delivery. Joining took seconds, leaving took twenty minutes and an extra box.
Try it this week
Before your next free trial, find the cancel steps first and set a reminder to cancel two days before it renews.
From Hidden Architectures of Daily Life (Design & Economics).
