7 ms·

The Facebook blog post includes this screenshot [0]. That's definitely an opt-in, although I could imagine a non-technical person clicking through it without re

• sdoering 9y ago
  This is exactly why I do not have any call/sms info in my FB data downloads. I read such stuff and deny the app these things. Btw. something I am required by law here in Germany. I would need written permission of every contact in my phonebook for this upload, before uploading. Same goes for WhatApp.
  • orbifold 9y ago
    Hm, isn't it illegal to offer this option in Germany then?
    • thecatspaw 9y ago
      I am not sure about the wording of the law. But imho no, this would not be illegal to offer. It would be illegal to use, unless you have permission from everybody.
  • the_mitsuhiko 9y ago
    You are wrong about Germany. Only if you are a company you need permission.
    • stormking 9y ago
      No, you are wrong, this law applies to everyone.
      • ccozan 9y ago
        This is true. And it seems that people really do it. I get calls from previous colleagues or companies, weather they can give my number further.
• jonathankoren 9y ago
  It is not "better than nothing," it is the minimum that is technically and legally required. The UI is intentionally deceptive. The text is deceptive. The big text says "Text anyone in your phone," which sounds great, but doesn't actually say anything about data sharing. The small low contrast text, describes what they're doing. They know that by putting it small and grey, most people wont read it. The buttons are deceptive. It looks like there's only one button. Even by putting all the permission stuff in a row on first startup is push ploy. Everyone knows, people just keep clicking OK until they get to actual app. People don't read the pages. People don't read the user agreements. They just want to get through the roadblocks as fast as possible so they can get to what they want. None of this is by accident. All of these elements are chosen to push people towards the desired outcome, to upload your contacts, SMS, and call history as quickly as possible.
  • zodiac 9y ago
    > People don't read the pages. People don't read the user agreements. Then maybe "people" shouldn't act completely outraged when they find out that their call history was uploaded?
    • jonathankoren 9y ago
      No one chose anything. The best description I recently heard of these types push questions is "exploiting a bug in human behavior. And when the bug is in the brain, there is no patch."
      • stefanmm 9y ago
        this.
      • zodiac 9y ago
        So how do we solve this? What is the general framework we use to agree to transactions of this kind where users allow access for some data in return for something?
• malka 9y ago
  dark pattern like this one needs to be hammered down by law. We should consider the most prominent button as "default" and such a form as an "opt-out".
  • kenning 9y ago
    I hate to play devil's advocate against something i agree with here, but there's a lot of subjective ideas here, most obviously determining which button is "most prominent."
    • jbkrule 9y ago
      In a world where we have already been preconditioned to certain design patterns, the blue button is clearly the more prominent and will subconsciously be considered the "default" option.
      • josephg 9y ago
        Worse than that - I expect most technology-illiterate users won't realise the "Not now" text is a button at all. (Its grey-on-white designed to look identical to the copy text above the button. The only difference is placement, and a small difference in font size.)
  • darawk 9y ago
    Is this really a dark pattern? The text is right there. It's not convoluted legalese, it's extremely straightforward. If people aren't willing to read that, how exactly are you supposed to get anyone's consent for anything?
    • rocqua 9y ago
      You are supposed to get consent by showing both options equally. Note also the wording of "not now". That is the kind of option that feels like the app is going to bother you about it again. Moreover, it communicates inevitability. You can opt out for now. All of this is clearly made to get people to opt-in. Heck, it is not even clear that the "not now" option is clickable.
• alkonaut 9y ago
  That should be considered an opt-out. It's barely noticable that it's an opt-anything when the prominent option is the creepy option.
• ConcernedCoder 9y ago
  I'd like to formally welcome everyone to the world of a/b test-driven development! Nice easy-to-read high-contrast giant-font headings that seem legit: "Text anyone in your phone!" - Yay! that's exactly what I want!!! Tricky hard-to-read low-contrast micro-font fine print that looks like way to much trouble to try to read, detailing what ACTUALLY happens when you're tricked into clicking the: One brightly-colored-only-thing-that-looks-remotely-like-I-should-click-it call to action. Add in the cute emoji looking user who obviously LOVES giving up his privacy, and you've got a winner! Wow project manager, would you look at these great test results!!! everyone wants to give us their private info!!! what idiots! -every front-end engineer ever
  • robryan 9y ago
    The opt out button is also "Not Now" so they can hit you with this screen again and again until you accidently opt in or want to make it go away.
    • mnx 9y ago
      yeah, that's how I recently clicked it - had to quickly install messenger (needed to make a video call, which the lite client I normally use doesn't support), clicked right through this. And normally I'm careful with such stuff.
• notwhereyouare 9y ago
  that is actually a different screen then when they first rolled it out. You had to dig into another screen to opt out.