Sarah Morrison, writing at Vox, explains the concept of apps and websites using dark patterns to trick users into doing what they want you to do.

It’s hard to know what’s an actionable deceptive act or practice when there’s no privacy law in the first place. And it’s hard for consumers to know what they’re giving away unintentionally or how it might be used against them when it all happens behind the scenes.

It’s all deceptive practices. This stuff is insidious. The explainer showcases all the tricks so you can be smarter about it in the future.