Most free applications generate income for their developers via ads, subscriptions or integrated purchases. There is nothing wrong with that. Making quality software takes time and skills, and developers deserve fair compensation. However, some applications and games go in great efforts to allow you to scroll or push you to spend money. The tactics they use range from annoyance to handling.
Sometimes the solution is to pay the developers to delete ads or access their software. If you have one of the best Android phones for the game, you may be able to afford it. However, paying to delete questionable features or deceptive design choices is not an option in many cases. For this reason, it is worth knowing which shady patterns are looking for in today’s applications and games.
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5
Manipulative user interfaces
Screens and pimples designed to deceive you
I recently downloaded multiple applications from the Play Store that would suppose me supposedly to find a lost Bluetooth device. They are the inspiration of this article. Before arriving on the home screen of the first application, he invited me to unlock all his features by starting a free trial. It’s good, technically. I would gladly pay if the tool helped me find my lost headphones. After all, wireless headphones can cost several hundred dollars to replace.
In an frustrating way, each item of this screen is intentionally arranged to encourage people to start a free trial or to pay right away. First of all, you see a big blue Continue free button with No payment now! written below. Press this button displays the Google Play screen to confirm the subscription. There is also a Disable the free trial Togle, which means that you pay a subscription immediately, before using the application. If it is not summary enough, the free trial lasts three days and the subscription costs $ 17 per week. With a user interface like this, accident subscription is a probable scenario if you are in a hurry and do not pay attention.
There is a free way to use the application, but with ads on almost all screens. You must press the tiny gray x button in the upper corner of the free trial screen. Sign that you scroll down to read reviews (probably false) users, the X button disappears from the screen. No criticism and notes for the application appear on the Play Store, even if it invites you to leave a criticism. In case you ask yourself the question, the application is barely working and is not better than free alternatives on the Play Store like Ble Scanner.
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4
Boring notifications
Applications begging me to open them
We cannot deny the usefulness of notifications, but it is not fun when they are constantly bombing. Games are particularly guilty because their developers want you to play as much as possible. Certain notifications are welcome, such as those which inform you of an event at stake, such as obtaining additional lives or a hero who goes up. However, it is dirty dirt when pop-ups are made to play emotional tricks on you, like triggering Fomo or say how virtual virtual pets are.
Some less scrupulous developers can push notifications intended to be mistaken. For example, Redditor Marshmallowwaswtr shared a screenshot of a pop-up disguised as a missed call notification. If you browse the sabreddits exhibiting such arcmautic tactics, you will see advertisements with false low battery warnings emerge. Advertisements with false hair or dust specifications, which you can instinctively touch, are also quite creative.
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3
Algorithmic flow
There is no exhaust of the algorithm
You do not have to agree with me on this subject, but I am not a fan of organized algorithmic screens in popular social media applications. When I open Facebook, I want to see a chronological flow, preferably not strewn with coils and suggestions from friends. When I go to Instagram, I want to see the accounts that I am by default. On YouTube, I want to see my subscriptions first, not shorts or whatever the videos that the algorithm has chosen for me.
The options to make these changes to the user interface do not exist permanently, and it is easy to guess why. Social media applications want to keep you on the platform as long as possible. They want to connect with their most engaging content, which they show you when you land on them. The content served by algorithms can be informative and entertaining, but also addictive and crushing. Reducing discipline to keep your eyes away from the screen becomes more and more difficult.
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2
Applications that make choices for me
And it is the one they want
Source: Netflix / The Wayback Machine
Funny fact: in 1982, the number of Organ donors in Austria increased by 400% after a simple but effective legal change. People were considered default donors, unless they have actively withdrew. History demonstrates the tendency of people to stick to the default value, and applicants of applications are aware of this phenomenon.
This is why the application has a ready suggestion when you have to make a choice. For example, if you have to choose a subscription plan for a service, one of the levels is pre -selected, and it is generally the one that the developers want you to choose, even if it is not the best plan for you. When there is a more expensive level to choose, companies can intentionally make it look like poor value. This means that defect looks like a good deal, a technique known as price anchoring.
1
ORIRING OF ADMENTS
When advertisements are just too
Applications must display advertisements to finance their existence, and I am well with that. Advertisements allow many services to operate for free, which keeps them accessible to everyone. However, some developers use manipulation tactics to click you. For example, in the image above, the application asks you to choose a language while displaying advertising in the lower third party. The big blue Open The button opens the ad instead of taking you to the next screen. The small button to confirm your choice is in the upper corner.
Then comes a four -page tutorial and a full screen announcement appears between each slide. In the Bluetooth application of aforementioned Bluetooth device, I had to look at 60 seconds of ads before I could use any feature. The overload of the application with announcements increases the risk that users leave and try something else. However, developers may not see a problem with this when they know that people will not come back anyway.
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Why are some applications also boring?
It seems that each application and online website is hungry for your attention. Whoever does not use all the tips of the book to allow you to hire may lose business and get delay in their competitors. This is how we got here. This is why some developers design each button, each layout and each color palette to attract your attention or inspire a specific emotion. The maximization of income is also the reason why registration for a service takes a few clicks, but the cancellation leads you through hoops and obstacles.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel. In 2024, the FTC finalized its click rules on companies, demanding clear and easy processes to cancel subscriptions and subscriptions. In Europe, technology giants cannot collect exorbitant quantities of user data without consent. Without a doubt, many technology giants and for -profit application developers will stick to dubious tactics, as long as they do not violate the law, but at least now you should be much better to identify them.
