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79% of Indian apps trick users into giving up their privacy, reveals ASCI-Parallel HQ study

Privacy deception was the most common type of dark pattern across popular apps used for travel booking, food delivery, etc.

Over 79 per cent of Indian apps trick users into giving away their personal data, according to a study that was jointly conducted by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and UI/UX design company Parallel HQ.

The study published on Thursday, August 1, identified deceptive or dark patterns in more than 50 Indian apps across sectors such as e-commerce, health, and fintech as well as cab-booking services and delivery platforms with a total of 21 billion downloads.

It found that a majority of dark patterns were used by travel booking apps like Goibibo, MakeMyTrip and EaseMyTrip followed by delivery and logistics apps such as Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto, Borzo, etc.

Percentage of apps containing each dark pattern. (Image credit: ASCI)

Dark patterns refer to certain practices by companies that are meant to manipulate or mislead users into unknowingly sharing their personal data, pushing them to subscribe to a recurring service, and more.

What do dark patterns look like? “If you try to order chicken biryani on an app and when you go to place your order, the amount is higher than you thought – that could be a deceptive pattern. If you’re trying to delete your account on a platform and you can’t, that might be a deceptive pattern. If you’re trying to look at an online service’s Terms and Conditions but you can’t click them or understand, that could be a deceptive pattern,” said Robin Dhanwani, founder and CEO of Parallel HQ, at the launch of the report.

How common are dark patterns on Indian apps?

Though there are several types of dark patterns that users often fall for, the study identified 12 such practices with Privacy Deception being the most common, followed by Interface Interference (when apps hide certain parts of the platform to misdirect users into taking actions) and Drip Pricing (when an app quietly adds additional fees, increasing the final amount to pay).


Four out of 12 dark patterns accounted for 78 per cent of total occurrences, as per the report. (Image credit: ASCI)

Out of the 53 different apps that were scrutinised, 52 apps showcased at least one dark pattern, according to the study. This indicates that most Indian apps carry out form of user manipulation via their online interfaces.

“The app with most Deceptive Patterns had a total of 23 Deceptive Pattern instances, belonging to 4 different Deceptive Patterns,” the report read. It also said that a user is most likely to encounter dark patterns on an app during the purchasing, subscribing, or booking stage.

More than 80 per cent of apps contained a deceptive pattern in their Settings or Profile sections, it added.

Which apps are notorious for using dark patterns?

E-commerce apps like Amazon, Flipkart, and Nykaa, among others, make it difficult for their users to delete their account, the study found. Additionally, four out of five health tech apps rushed users into making decisions by using a dark pattern called False Urgency.

We found this surprising because health is a very important subject that affects all of our lives, Dhanwani said. The deceptive pattern of adding unwanted items to a user’s online shopping cart without their explicit consent is 4 times more prevalent in delivery and logistics platforms than any other apps.

Interestingly, Confirm-Shaming – which is a type of dark pattern that involves making the user feel guilty into opting for something – was only observed in travel booking apps, specifically by forcing users to buy ticket cancellation insurance or select the ‘No, thanks I’ll risk it’ option.

What are the solutions to protect users from dark patterns?

In a panel discussion moderated by Manisha Kapoor, secretary general of ASCI, Rohit Kumar Singh, former secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs said that express consent from users was key to mitigating dark patterns. He also emphasised that there needs to be clarity on how dark patterns are defined as it would help companies know what sort of design options shown to users are right and what is not.

Singh added that coming up with a one-size-fits-all solution was difficult as dark patterns were dynamic and a company’s product keeps evolving.

“It’s not a one-time exercise because before you know it, by the time you’ve developed a solution, things have already moved ahead. So, in that sense, are we always playing a catch-up game would be a question we need to ask,” Kapoor further remarked.

When asked if apps need to overhaul their interfaces to comply with the Consumer Protection Act and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, Ashish Aggarwal, VP and head of Public Policy at Nasscom, said that the standard of consent has been firmly placed in the law. “It is not just about the interface, privacy needs to be realised throughout your operating model and business model,” he said.

Meanwhile, Parallel HQ’s Robin Dhanwani said that companies don’t always intentionally use dark patterns. “It’s not enough to just tell companies not to use dark patterns. We need to come together and create resources and tools for everyone to understand how to actually address dark patterns in a holistic manner,” he explained.

Aside from spreading awareness, ASCI and Parallel HQ have rolled out a Conscious Score Calculator for app developers and companies to test if their app design contains dark patterns.