Possibly beneficial and useful features can still be dark patterns. Whether or not there is any potential user-value is irrelevant to the ethics of design decis

Possibly beneficial and useful features can still be dark patterns. Whether or not there is any potential user-value is irrelevant to the ethics of design decisions like these. If you're dealing with user data you should never compromise a basic respect for that user's intent. Designing for implied consent where consent should be explicit (e.g. sharing personal data) is unambiguously a dark pattern.