It's clearly a dark pattern thought up by shitbags because users are more likely to create an account after they've typed something out vs. leaving when they find out an account is required to participate.

Even the shitbags over at Mozilla are doing it.

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[–] 25 points 8 months ago (1 child)

There's an even worse variant of that.

  1. Install an app.
  2. Start it up.
  3. It asks you some relevant questions to customize the experience to your needs.
  4. You answer them, and that takes a while.
  5. It asks you for your card.
  6. ???
  7. Profit

At least that's how the app devs imagine how that's going to go. IRL though, you just kill the app immediately, leave a bad review about dark patterns, and delete the whole scamware from your phone. If the devs are feeling extra greedy, they'll also ask for you to rate the app long before you've even had an opportunity to do anything with it.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago

    Unfortunately, many people are naive and susceptible to the sunk-cost fallacy; that's what they are banking on. They know a good portion will just kill the app but the few that bite will be milked for all they are worth.

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