Forced Action and Fairness

How to Apply

Let users complete the main task without requiring extra sign-ups, surveys, or sharing unrelated data.
Explain briefly and in plain language why any requested information is needed directly next to the input field.
Provide a clear “Skip for now” or “Continue without this” link whenever you ask for non-essential actions.

Dark Pattern

Forced Action

Require an unrelated step before an action

Forced Action is a strategy which requires users to knowingly or unknowingly perform an additional and/or tangential action or information to access (or continue to access) specific functionality, preventing them from continuing their interaction with a system without performing that action.

Contexts

checkout
privacy

Harmed Goals

control
comprehension

Sources

Bright Pattern

Fairness

Open →

Ensures ethical treatment of users through transparent practices and respect for user autonomy.

Fairness encompasses design patterns that treat users ethically and respectfully by minimizing data collection, providing clear consent mechanisms, transparent pricing, and easy exit options. This ensures users are not manipulated or deceived, and their choices are respected throughout their interaction with digital services.

Interaction Contexts

settings

Sources

Pattern Levels

Diagram: High (strategy, diagnostic), Meso (angle of attack, still diagnostic), Low (means of execution, context specific). Integrated textual descriptions appear within each layer.

Source not found.

Approach: semantic vs flipping

Two different approaches to Bright Patterns:

Semantic Approach

This approach is used by Sandhaus. It defines concrete Bright Patterns for specific contexts — for example the Bright Pattern "Usage Limits", which describes an interface that restricts the usage time of a service to a healthy level.

Flipping Dark Patterns

The original way the term "Bright Pattern" was introduced: the direction of the manipulation is switched from harming the user to being user-friendly. For example, instead of highlighting the option that harms the user, the user-friendly option is highlighted.

Source:

How the Symbiosis Works

The symbiosis view connects dark patterns to bright alternatives

Dark Patterns match Bright Patterns

In the symbiosis view, each dark high/meso level pattern is paired with at least one matching bright pattern.

This view does not include low-level patterns, as these are implementation details. Refer to the related meso or high-level patterns for bright low-level alternatives.

Learn more about pattern levels in the pattern levels explainer.

Alternatives

Go into detail for each pair to see how a manipulative dark pattern can be replaced by an ethical bright pattern.

For that click on a pair in the symbiosis view to open its detail page. There you get a guide on how to apply the bright pattern and you can compare the bright pattern directly to the dark pattern.

Paul Bertram 2026

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