Explained: Why dark patterns are under the watchdog's spotlight?

Watch out for dark patterns lurking in your online shopping cart. Ever seen messages like "Only 2 rooms left!" or "Items in your cart will expire soon" while shopping online? You're not alone! These are called dark patterns. A common design tactic that manipulates or heavily influences users to make certain choices. But they are no longer lurking in the dark, India's consumer protection watchdog is cracking down and putting the spotlight on them but can they be stopped? Host Mugdha Variyar decodes the web of these patterns with a UX designer that weaves them in to lure users and questions the effectiveness of the guidelines with Prateek Waghre, Executive Director of the Internet Freedom Foundation in the latest episode of The Morning Brief podcast!Credit: Yahoo Finance and WION.  If you like this episode from Mugdha Variyar, check out her other interesting episodes on COP28: Another cop or another cop-out?, Idlis & Innovation with iD Fresh Food, ESOP Fables: Risks and Rewards and more!You can follow Mugdha Variyar on her social media: Twitter and Linkedin Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on ET Play, The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Google Podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.