Dark Patterns Audit | Another Web is Possible
Dark Patterns Audit

Find out what your website is doing to people

A forensic review of your site's design patterns, consent flows, and conversion paths. We find the manipulation, explain why it's there, and show you what to do instead.

Get started How it works
The problem

Most websites don't know they're doing it

Dark patterns rarely start with someone deciding to be manipulative. They start with a plugin, a template, a "best practice" guide, or a vendor who ships urgency tactics as default settings. Then nobody questions it.

78%
of audited ecommerce sites use fake urgency tactics
42%
use confirmshaming to pressure users into compliance
58%
make cancellation deliberately harder than signup

The manipulation is usually structural, not personal. It's baked into the tools, the templates, and the incentive model. A Shopify app ships with fake "only 2 left" counters enabled by default. A checkout plugin adds drip-priced fees across five steps. A cookie banner is designed to make consent the path of most resistance.

These patterns erode trust, inflate complaint rates, and expose your business to regulatory action under the CMA, FTC, and EU Digital Services Act. But the real cost is simpler than that: people notice. They remember. And they don't come back.

A dark patterns audit tells you exactly where you stand. No guesswork. No assumptions. Just a clear, evidence-based account of what your site is doing to the people who use it.

What you get

A complete picture, not a checklist

Every audit is tailored to your site, your sector, and your conversion flows. This is not a template with ticks and crosses. It is a detailed investigation with actionable findings.

01
Pattern identification
Every dark pattern on your site, named, categorised, and documented with screenshots and recordings. We use Brignull's taxonomy alongside our own classification system developed from 15 years of CRO practice.
02
Severity assessment
Each finding rated by user harm, legal risk, and business impact. Not everything is equally urgent. We help you prioritise what to fix first and what carries the most regulatory exposure.
03
Legal context
How each pattern maps against current regulations: UK Consumer Rights Act, CMA guidance, EU DSA and GDPR, FTC enforcement actions. We are not lawyers, but we know the landscape and we cite the precedents.
04
Root cause analysis
Where each pattern came from. A vendor default? A conversion plugin? An inherited template? A deliberate decision? Understanding the source determines the fix.
05
Ethical alternatives
For every pattern we flag, we propose a replacement. Not a watered-down version. A genuinely better approach that respects users and still serves the business goal. Tested, evidence-based, implementable.
06
Implementation roadmap
A prioritised plan for fixing what needs fixing. Quick wins, medium-term redesigns, and longer structural changes, all sequenced by impact and effort. Ready for your dev team or ours.
How it works

Four weeks from kickoff to roadmap

A structured process that respects your time and delivers findings you can act on immediately.

01
Scoping call
We map your key conversion flows, identify your tech stack, and agree the scope. 30 minutes. No forms with 14 fields.
02
Deep review
We walk every user journey on your site. Desktop and mobile. Checkout, signup, consent, account management, cancellation. Every click path, every modal, every default setting. We record everything.
03
Analysis and report
Findings compiled into a detailed report with pattern classification, severity ratings, legal context, root causes, and ethical alternatives. No jargon. No padding. Just clear, actionable analysis.
04
Walkthrough and planning
A live session to walk through the findings, answer questions, and build a prioritised implementation roadmap together. You leave knowing exactly what to do and in what order.
Audit scope

What we look for

A non-exhaustive list. Every site is different, and every audit is shaped by what we find, not what we expected to find.

Consent and privacy
Cookie banners, consent flows, pre-ticked checkboxes, privacy-hostile defaults, dark patterns in data collection forms, GDPR and PECR compliance of consent mechanisms.
Pricing and checkout
Drip pricing, hidden fees, sneaky basket additions, forced account creation, checkout pressure tactics, misleading discount displays, bait-and-switch pricing.
Urgency and scarcity
Fake countdown timers, fabricated stock levels, false "limited time" claims, manufactured social proof, fake purchase notifications, deceptive popularity signals.
Subscription and retention
Free trial traps, hidden auto-renewal, difficult cancellation flows, retention dark patterns, forced continuity, misleading renewal communications.
Interface manipulation
Confirmshaming, misdirection, visual interference, trick questions, disguised ads, roach motels, obstruction patterns, asymmetric effort between signup and cancellation.
Personalisation and AI
Dynamic dark patterns, behavioural profiling for manipulation, AI-driven urgency, differential pricing based on user signals, personalised pressure tactics.
Who it's for

Three reasons people come to us

Compliance
You need to know where you stand before the regulator does
The CMA, FTC, and EU are actively enforcing against dark patterns. You want a clear picture of your exposure and a plan to address it before enforcement catches up with your sector.
Values
You care about your users and want to prove it
You suspect your site has patterns you did not choose. Maybe inherited from a previous agency, a vendor, or a template. You want them found and replaced with approaches that match your values.
Performance
Your metrics are hiding a trust problem
Conversions look healthy but returns are high, complaints are rising, and retention is flat. Dark patterns often inflate short-term numbers at the expense of long-term value. The audit shows you where.
Questions

Things people ask

How long does an audit take?
Four weeks from scoping call to final walkthrough. Larger sites with complex conversion flows may take longer. We will tell you at the scoping stage, not after you have committed.
What does it cost?
It depends on the size and complexity of your site. A brochure site with a contact form is a different job to a multi-product ecommerce checkout with subscription flows. Get in touch and we will scope it properly. No ballpark guesses and no surprises.
Can you fix the problems you find?
Yes. The audit stands alone as a deliverable, but if you want implementation support, we offer CRO, UX, and development services to redesign the patterns we flag. Same team, same principles.
Is this just a compliance checklist?
No. Compliance checklists tell you whether you tick a box. An audit tells you what your site is doing to people, why, and what to do instead. The legal context is part of it, but the analysis goes deeper than regulation.
What if you don't find anything?
Then you get a clean report and the confidence that comes with it. In practice, every site we have audited has had findings. The question is always severity, not existence.
Do you work with agencies as well as brands?
Yes. If you are an agency that wants an independent audit of a client's site, or if you want to offer dark pattern audits as part of your own service, we can work with you. White-label arrangements are available.

Find out what your site
is really doing

First conversation is free. No forms with 14 fields. No confirmshaming if you decide it is not for you.

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