Downloaded it to get a free drink on sign-up (start of the sem,like Hungry Panda) student promo. Then just tried premium as it was free for a month and showed "amazing"(not so amazing offers) for food delivery and pick up. The app uses a lot of dark patterns. The unsubscribe button was basically hidden in the promotion sections. A lot of other ppl have had issues with this, found a Reddit post full of comments of ppl realizing they have been charged by the auto-renewal.

This design takes advantage of the time and effort you've already invested. By the time the extra fees appear, many people continue with the purchase because they don't want to start the process again.

Image 1: The darker orange button (emphasised more than the yellow button), actually allows you to "fight" for discounts, where as the yellow button is 'add to cart'.

Image 2: By screenshotting, the app immediately searches and presents the items available/similar to those in the screenshot, keeping users in a state of 'shopping'

Image 3: The highlighted text is "purchase again", it stands out and is in a location that is super easy to misclick at (especially when scrolling on a phone as that is where the thumb usually rests). This button will also lead you immediately to the checkout instead of just 'adding to cart'

• forced continuity: it does not email user about upcoming end of free trial, leading to automatic reduction in bank. The money outflow's reason is not documented by ChatGPT itself, only name of the company and amount of money gone

• roach motel: tricky to unsubscribe, limited unsubscribe guidance; vague information (no specific examples, just time range) of the date user must cancel subscription to avoid being charged for the next period

How did this design "cheat people"?

Taking advantage of users' reading habits (their eyes and clicks naturally fall towards the bottom of the screen when reading novels)

Covering the actual buttons with an almost invisible transparent layer to create the illusion that "it seems you are clicking on A, but in fact you are clicking on B"

The purpose is to deceive users into clicking on advertisements or redirecting traffic, rather than improving user experience

Users need to "learn" an unofficial workaround (dragging the buttons to the middle) to use the website normally, which itself indicates that the design is against the users' interests

The fake blue buttons occupy the visual center. They are eye-catching and more than one. The real green download button is ignored. The only advertising logo is a small circle "i" in the lower right corner. These dark patterns lead to low efficiency, and it takes users extra time to identify the real download button. It is not only a waste of time but also makes users feel insecure.

Many cookie banners offer only two options, "Accept All" or "Manage Preferences", but there is no "Reject All" button. Clicking Manage reveals a long list of toggles, and every single one is pre-enabled, so refusing tracking means manually switching off each category one by one. The design works by stacking friction: accepting takes one click, while rejecting takes five or more, and most users give up and accept. It also exploits default bias, then pre-checked options feel like the "normal" choice, even though GDPR requires consent to be opt-in, not opt-out.

It lures users by starting giving the impression they can use it without signing up, then forces the user to sign up to continue their session and preserve their progress/result.