Discouraging tactics
Like the Amazon Prime cancellation process described in the FTC’s complaint, these strategies were rarely deployed in isolation: the sites in our sample used 2.4 dark patterns on average, and five sites contained five or more dark patterns to deter account disabling.
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 (Complete Obstruction).
Nine sites obstructed the path to account disabling by burdening the user with unnecessary work, such as chatting to a company representative in real time or responding to an email to confirm their decision to leave (Temporary Obstruction).
Seven sites confused or mislead the user by, for instance, hiding the button to initiate the account disabling process in an unusual location or making the button itself small and faint (Obfuscation).
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!” (Inducements to Reconsider).
Even if the user was able to successfully disable their account, they were frequently confronted with opportunities or pressure to return (Consequences). Twelve sites continued to communicate with the user via email or offered account reactivation for a fixed period; one site made reactivation possible for the exorbitantly long period of a year.
Even worse, four sites offered account reactivation indefinitely, meaning that the account and its associated data could never be permanently deleted.
Complex motivations
While people may wish to cancel an Amazon Prime subscription to avoid unwanted fees, motivations to quit social media are more complex. Research shows that users report a range of reasons to leave social media, including concerns over privacy, addiction and diminished well-being. Another study found that “at least 35.5% of [social media] account deletion attempts did not end in a deleted account.”
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.
Second, following the increased scrutiny that unwanted subscriptions have faced from the FTC as well as the European Commission, regulators should pay greater attention to dark patterns in the context of account disabling.
Based on our research, we suggest that sites should adopt a simple two-step account disabling process where users click an easy-to-locate button and finalize their choice through a neutral confirmation screen or by entering their password.
These recommendations are in line with “click to cancel,” proposed by the FTC in March 2023. The proposed rules envision a simple cancellation mechanism for subscriptions, and elimination of sales pitches or modifications in the cancellation process unless the consumer explicitly agrees to hearing them.
Increasingly, regulators are recognizing that websites deploy subtle design tactics to keep users trapped in unwanted services. While fighting to eliminate the dark patterns that abound online is a complicated task, the FTC’s complaint against Amazon represents a clear step in the right direction.
