Unfair trading practice glossary

Deleting an account is unavailable, disguised as another outcome or burdened by unnecessary barriers. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Obstruction

Also known as

• immortal account
• undeletable account
• deactivation offered instead of deletion
• deletion request loops
• unnecessary support contact
• deletion control absent while creation is self-service

Claims about recent or current actions by other users are used to steer the decision, particularly where authenticity, timing or relevance is unsupported. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Social proof

Also known as

• recent activity
• live purchase notification
• someone just bought
• viewers right now
• recent booking popup
• location-based activity claim

Content continues automatically or lacks meaningful stopping cues, reducing deliberate control over time and attention. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Forced action

Also known as

• autoplay
• infinite scroll
• continuous consumption
• automatic next video
• infinite feed without stopping cue
• autoplay preference ignored

The user selects a represented action or offer but receives a materially different outcome that favours the business. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Sneaking

Also known as

• outcome switch
• misdirected action
• represented free action becomes paid
• control triggers different action
• selected offer replaced after click
• close control opens promotion

Distinct products, services, permissions or purposes are grouped under one choice so the user cannot readily understand or select them separately. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• bundling
• bundle default
• combined choice
• products grouped without component choice
• permissions under one switch
• unbundled price hidden
• multiple marketing channels under one control

Ending an existing subscription, recurring service or permission is made difficult to find or complete through unnecessary steps or channel asymmetry. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Obstruction

Also known as

• roach motel
• click fatigue
• hard to unsubscribe
• online sign-up but phone-only exit
• repeated retention offers
• unnecessary identity checks
• cancellation link buried
• unclear completion state
• hard-to-cancel subscription
• obstructed exit
• cancellation maze
• save-flow friction
• Hard to cancel or opt out

The volume or organisation of options or information makes meaningful comparison impractical and channels users toward a default or business-favoured path. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• too many options
• information overload
• unstructured option volume
• decoy-heavy comparison
• dense disclosure that obscures key terms

Information needed to compare products, plans or consequences is presented in inconsistent, fragmented or unusable form. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Obstruction

Also known as

• hard-to-compare
• attribute fragmentation
• inconsistent units
• features split across tabs
• total price omitted from comparison
• plan names changed between steps

Material guidance is presented in a language or level of complexity that makes informed choice materially harder for the target user. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• complex language
• wrong language
• language discontinuity
• hidden legalese
• wrong locale
• unexplained jargon
• unnecessarily complex sentences
• language switch at material term

Option labels use shame, guilt, fear or asymmetric emotional framing to move the user away from the outcome they would otherwise choose. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• confirmshaming
• toying with emotion
• emotional steering
• positive or negative framing
• shaming decline
• fear-based acceptance
• morally loaded option
• asymmetric benefit/loss framing
• guilt language
• loaded choice
• emotional manipulation
• shaming decline copy
• Manipulative choice wording

The service extracts contact information, sends or prepares unwanted invitations, or ties functionality to recruiting other people. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Forced action

Also known as

• friend spam
• address book leeching
• social pyramid
• address-book extraction
• preselected mass invitation
• message sent under unclear consent
• functionality or reward tied to recruitment

A visible countdown applies time pressure, particularly where it resets, is personalised without disclosure or has no corresponding consequence at zero. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Urgency

Also known as

• countdown scarcity
• resetting timer
• timer resets on reload
• timer differs by user
• zero has no consequence
• deadline repeatedly extended
• fake countdown
• false low-stock claim
• manufactured urgency
• scarcity cue
• expiring-offer claim
• False urgency and scarcity

Access to support needed to resolve a purchase, account, charge or right is hidden or burdened by unnecessary loops and dead ends. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Obstruction

Also known as

• support maze
• contact obstruction
• contact channel hidden
• bot loop without escalation
• issue categories exclude the user's right
• support form repeatedly resets

A consumer-favourable route cannot reach its represented outcome and instead loops, stalls or loses progress. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Obstruction

Also known as

• interaction dead end
• blocked path
• decline route returns to same prompt
• no completion control
• error only on consumer-favourable path
• back navigation loses progress

A promotional or biased action is presented as ordinary content or as a different control, causing interaction under a mistaken understanding. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• disguised ad
• native ad deception
• fake close button
• ad styled as content
• advertisement styled as download
• close-looking control opens promotion
• sponsored result without effective label

A mandatory or foreseeable charge is omitted, obscured or revealed only after the user has invested effort in the transaction. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Sneaking

Also known as

• hidden charges
• drip pricing
• late mandatory fee
• transaction fee shown late
• mandatory service charge absent from initial price
• base price excludes unavoidable component
• per-transaction fee unclear
• hidden mandatory fee
• transaction fee
• service fee
• unavoidable charge
• Hidden costs or drip pricing

Parallel options are presented as if one were hierarchically primary, giving a business-favoured option materially greater visual or interactive prominence. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• visual interference
• visual prominence
• misdirection
• primary button versus text link
• size or contrast asymmetry
• interactive affordance asymmetry
• distracting competing element
• manipulative interface
• dark pattern
• deceptive design
• choice distortion
• obstructive design
• Manipulative choice architecture

A control does not let the user reasonably predict its material outcome before activation. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• ambiguous action
• misleading action
• ambiguous CTA
• generic continue label hides commitment
• icon outcome unclear
• label describes process but not consequence

Access or progression is conditioned on disclosing personal information that appears unnecessary, excessive or used for an insufficiently explained secondary purpose. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Forced action

Also known as

• privacy zuckering
• excessive data requests
• forced communication
• apparently unnecessary required field
• sensitive data gate
• secondary-use disclosure
• tracking-for-access

Access is conditioned on accepting optional or separable data uses, communications or permissions as one bundled choice. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Forced action

Also known as

• take-it-or-leave-it consent
• consent wall
• bundled permission
• service access tied to optional tracking
• multiple unrelated purposes under one accept action
• decline blocks unrelated core function

The user must create an account, or is led to believe one is required, to complete a goal that could plausibly be provided without it. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Forced action

Also known as

• forced enrolment
• forced enrollment
• account required for purchase
• registration presented as technically necessary
• guest path withheld
• forced registration
• account wall
• data gate
• forced data disclosure
• unnecessary sign-up
• Forced registration and data disclosure

Desired functionality is practically conditioned on repetitive engagement or an additional payment not sufficiently clear at acquisition. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Forced action

Also known as

• gamification
• grinding
• pay-to-play
• repetitive grinding
• paid bypass
• function withheld after acquisition
• daily-streak access

Information relevant to the decision is absent or presented so ineffectively that it is unlikely to inform the user at the decision point. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• hidden information
• hidden in plain sight
• low salience material information
• missing
• visually hidden
• low salience
• collapsed
• unclear
• ambiguous
• untimely
• overwhelming
• buried disclosure
• ambiguous disclosure
• late disclosure
• information overload
• Hidden or low-salience material information

A claim of unusually high current demand is used to accelerate a decision without a clear or supportable basis. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Urgency

Also known as

• selling fast
• many people viewing
• selling quickly
• many shoppers interested
• booked repeatedly today
• demand message invariant across sessions

A proprietary currency makes the real monetary cost or remaining value unnecessarily hard to understand. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Obstruction

Also known as

• virtual currency obfuscation
• token pricing
• non-round conversion bundles
• multiple virtual currencies
• real-money equivalent hidden
• unused remainder engineered

A textual deadline or temporary-reservation claim pressures action, particularly where the deadline renews or its stated consequence does not occur. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Urgency

Also known as

• limited-time message
• reservation timeout
• offer expires soon
• sale ending soon
• basket reserved briefly
• price held for a stated period
• deadline renews on return

A claim that few units remain applies purchase pressure, especially where inventory basis or persistence is unsupported. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Urgency

Also known as

• scarcity stock message
• only a few left
• only two left
• last item
• stock badge unchanged over time
• per-user fabricated inventory

A comparison or prior price creates an inaccurate or insufficiently explained impression of savings. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• fake discount
• false was price
• reference-price anchoring
• inaccurate struck-through price
• unrepresentative prior price
• arithmetically inconsistent discount
• unclear comparison basis

Silence, inactivity or an ineffective prior interaction is treated as authorisation for a paid or consequential transaction. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Sneaking

Also known as

• inertia selling
• silence as consent
• unauthorised renewal
• charge unless user opts out
• paid conversion without valid assent
• post-trial transaction without effective notice
• service supplied and billed without request

A relevant alternative within the current decision is hidden, blocked or made materially harder than the business-favoured action. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Obstruction

Also known as

• single-screen obstruction
• hidden alternative
• asymmetric choice path
• decline behind manage options
• secondary action outside viewport
• alternative covered or disabled
• accept directly but reject through extra screen

Aggregate popularity or approval is presented to steer a choice where the metric, population, period or basis is unclear or unsupported. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Social proof

Also known as

• best seller claim
• most popular
• aggregate social proof
• most popular plan
• number of customers
• star rating
• trending badge

A business-favoured option with a plausible adverse consequence is active before a deliberate user choice. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• bad defaults
• default add-on
• deceptive snugness
• prechecked marketing
• preselected paid add-on
• default privacy-invasive setting
• preselected higher-cost plan
• pre-ticked option
• default bias
• preselection
• opt-out default
• Preselection or bad default

A more expensive or profitable option is made the practical focal choice through preselection, visual prominence or obscured lower-cost alternatives. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• pressured selling
• preselected expensive option
• decoy upsell
• higher-price plan visually privileged
• cheaper option obscured
• upgrade preselected
• repeated upgrade gate

Privacy controls are fragmented, inconsistently labelled or layered so that limiting collection or use is unnecessarily difficult. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Obstruction

Also known as

• privacy settings maze
• privacy zuckering by obstruction
• tracking choices spread across screens
• global opt-out unavailable
• setting names inconsistent
• decline route repeatedly branches

A business-favoured request repeatedly interrupts the user after decline, dismissal or non-response without a durable way to stop it. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Nagging

Also known as

• nagging
• continuous prompting
• non-persistent dismissal
• permission request returns after decline
• upgrade popup returns after dismissal
• rating or notification prompt interrupts repeatedly

A paid or consequential item is added to a basket or transaction without a clear, deliberate and specific user choice. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Sneaking

Also known as

• automatic add-on
• sneak into cart
• insurance automatically added
• donation inserted
• accessory added by default
• quantity increased without deliberate selection

A transaction creates or continues recurring liability without effective, timely disclosure of the subscription, renewal and exit consequences. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Sneaking

Also known as

• forced continuity
• hidden subscription
• automatic renewal surprise
• trial rolls into paid plan
• renewal term hidden
• recurring liability disclosed after assent
• renewal notice absent where prescribed
• subscription trap
• automatic renewal
• free-trial conversion
• negative-option subscription
• recurring billing
• Hidden subscription or forced continuity

A named or attributed person's approval is used persuasively without sufficient authenticity, representativeness or relationship disclosure. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Social proof

Also known as

• customer testimonial
• influencer endorsement
• expert endorsement
• fabricated review
• material connection undisclosed
• testimonial not representative
• authority claim unsupported

A question or control uses confusing, reversed or leading semantics so the user's likely interpretation may not match the resulting choice. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

Family

Interface interference

Also known as

• trick wording
• double negative
• reversed checkbox meaning
• inconsistent yes/no semantics
• leading question