A sweep of more than 1,000 websites and mobile apps found that 97% of websites and apps reviewed were using one or more deceptive design patterns that make it difficult for people to protect their privacy online. Researchers found that the use of deceptive design patterns is often worse among websites and apps that are geared towards children.
The examination, conducted by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (this year’s “sweep coordinator”), along with 25 privacy enforcement authorities from across Canada and around the world, is an annual initiative of the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN). This year’s privacy sweep focused on how online deceptive design patterns can be used to steer users towards options that may result in the unnecessary and excessive collection of their personal information. In other cases, deceptive design may force individuals to take multiple steps to find a privacy policy, log out, or delete their account to discourage them to do so. Other forms of deceptive design include presenting users with repetitive prompts that may frustrate them into giving up more of their personal information than they would like.
Read the report:
