Hidden Information and Explainability

How to Apply

Place key info (costs, data use, decision criteria) near the main action button, not in secondary pages.
Use short, plain-language labels and helper text to explain how recommendations or decisions are made.
Add an expandable “How this works” or “Why you see this” panel next to algorithmic outputs and keep it one tap away.

Dark Pattern

Hidden Information

Relevant details or options are concealed or presented as unimportant, making it harder for users to access or recognize them.

Hidden Information subverts the user’s expectation that relevant information will be made accessible and visible, instead disguising relevant information or framing it as irrelevant

Contexts

checkout
privacy

Harmed Goals

transparency
comprehension
control

Sources

Bright Pattern

Explainability

Open →

Provides clear, transparent information about system processes, data usage, and decision-making logic.

Explainability encompasses design patterns that make system operations, data handling, and algorithmic decisions transparent and understandable to users. This includes showing data traces, revealing recommendation logic, providing clear cost breakdowns, and explaining AI processes in accessible language. These patterns build trust and empower users to make informed decisions about their interactions with digital systems.

Interaction Contexts

checkout
settings
social media

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

Impressum Datenschutz