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TermCraft conventionFoundational

Deceptive Pattern

A design that tricks you into doing something you did not mean to.

Definition

An interface designed to trick users into decisions they did not intend, now regulated in several jurisdictions.

Craft convention. True because the industry converged on it. Breaking it costs familiarity, not correctness.

In plain language

A design that tricks you into doing something you did not mean to.

Example

A cancellation flow with five screens, or a pre-selected add-on in a basket.

Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.

Deeper reading

The full entry behind this definition.

Nearby in the Atlas

Adjacent territory, found through shared tags rather than a stated link.