Outhouse › Dark Patterns › Choice

Trick questions

Options worded so that ticking the box means the opposite of what it appears to.

Why it matters

Untick this box if you do not wish to not receive offers. A visitor who reads it twice will usually tick it, untick it and tick it again before giving up. Every outcome is a valid response.

Linguists describe the double negative as a hallmark of informal speech. Here it is a hallmark of formal process.

How Outhouse measures it

Outhouse looks for double-negative opt-out wording such as uncheck this box if you do not want in the page text. One scores in full.

This audit counts towards Dark Patterns, with a weight of 2. 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

Install OptIn Assist. Available on selected plans. See all products.

Related audits

• No reject button: A consent banner with Accept and nothing like Reject beside it.
• Pre-ticked boxes: Boxes for marketing, partners or extras that are ticked before the visitor arrives.