Cancel Anyway - A Game About Dark UX Patterns
UI/UXInteractiveDark Patterns
An exaggerated tour through the dark UX patterns standing between you and the word “unsubscribe.”
Ever been there?
You find an online service you really need but realize they have a paid subscription model? Worry not, their free trial has got you covered. Just remember to cancel your subscription before the trial ends…
Companies will use so called “dark UX” to make it more difficult for users to cancel subscriptions.
Your challenge in this mini interactive game is to cancel that pesky subscription you didn’t want. You can also learn about common dark UX patterns and what to do when you encounter them.
randomonlinetool/myaccount
Your Basic subscription renews in 18:06
Ambiguous Language
Misdirection
Fake Urgency
Sneaked Into Basket
Exit Survey Wall
Double Negatives
The exit isn’t called an exit. Instead of "Cancel subscription," you’ll see soft phrases like "My subscription" or "Manage plan" that don’t reveal where they lead.What to do: Look for the words a company avoids using — like "cancel" or "delete." That avoidance is often the tell.
The button that helps the company is big, bold and colorful. The button that helps you is small, plain and easy to miss.What to do: Ignore visual weight. Scan the whole screen for plain text links before assuming there’s no way out.
A countdown, a "one-time" discount, or a "last chance" warning — designed to make you decide fast, before you think it through.What to do: Real deadlines don’t need a shrinking clock. If a decision suddenly feels urgent, that’s the design working as intended — slow down.
Extra charges, features, or opt-ins get added by default — counting on you not noticing before you submit.What to do: Read every pre-checked box before you hit submit. If something’s already selected, ask why the company chose that default for you.
You’re blocked from finishing until you answer a survey — often with only loaded, exaggerated, or irrelevant options to pick from.What to do: You don’t owe a reason to leave. If a real answer isn’t offered, pick anything and move on — the survey isn’t optional, but honesty about it is.
A checkbox or sentence worded with two negatives stacked together, so it’s genuinely hard to tell which state means "yes" and which means "no."What to do: Read it twice, out loud if you have to. If a company needs a logic puzzle to opt you out, that’s not an accident.
