Glossary · Business & commercial
Dark pattern
Also said as
dark patternsdeceptive designconfirmshaming
A dark pattern is interface design that tricks you into something you didn't mean to do — burying the opt-out, making cancellation feel impossible, hiding the fee until it's charged.
Why it matters to your business
AI tools are full of them, because defaults are where the money is: training on your data, ads on the free tier, fees in the annual plan — each one is a design choice someone made to not meet your eye.
The catch · what vendors don't say
None of it is technically hidden — it's all in the terms, on page nine, behind three menus. The design just makes sure you never read it.
