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Trial and renewal traps

Trials and introductory offers that turn into payments unless the visitor remembers to stop them.

Why it matters

Free is the most persuasive word in commerce and trial is the most forgettable. Together they describe an arrangement in which the visitor pays nothing now and a recurring sum later, chiefly because they forgot the date.

Cancellation should be possible, as the law requires. It need not be pleasant.

How Outhouse measures it

Outhouse counts phrases such as free trial, cancel any time, auto-renew, billed annually and then $ in the page text. Three or more scores in full.

This audit counts towards Dark Patterns, with a weight of 3. A category is 75% its two highest-scoring audits and 25% all of its audits, weighted, so a site is judged mostly on what it does most and partly on how many things it does.

How to improve your score

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Related audits

• Hidden fees and was-prices: Fees that appear late, and was prices that make today's price look like a saving.
• Upgrade prompts: Buttons inviting the visitor to pay for features the page used to include.
• Paid plans with ads: Subscription plans that are paid for and still show adverts.