Empirical Analysis of Dark Patterns in Cancellation UI Design and Handling of Personal Data for Domestic Subscription Services

Abstract

Subscription services have a characteristic in which they maintain the contract until the user requests cancellation. There is a strong correlation between the service provider's desire to prevent user defection and dark patterns, resulting in a complex cancellation procedure that becomes currently at issues. Furthermore, subscription services often require payment information such as credit card details to initiate usage, and if these data are not erased simultaneously with the cancellation procedure, the user's intentions are not fully satisfied. This paper focuses on identifying the actual situation of subscription service cancellations in Japan. To evaluate the user interface, we measured the number of clicks and screen transitions during the cancellation process. In assessing the retention of personal data, we paid attention to the timing of erasure of credit card information. We have collected 35 cases, but it does not mean that this paper directly assesses and predicts all existing subscription services.