dark patterns
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Why I Don’t Trust Freemium Security Plugins
Freemium broke my trust long before AI ever had the chance. A client messages me in a panic. Their WordPress site is apparently under “security risk”. Red badge, urgent tone, classic drama. The culprit? A freemium security plugin they’d installed themselves. It fires off an instant alert… then refuses to show what it’s actually found…
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Streaming Platform Rearranged Itself Again (It’s Not an Accident)
Remember browsing a shop, spotting something interesting, nipping out to fetch a mate, and returning to find the entire aisle rearranged? Course not – because shops don’t work that way. But streaming platforms and social media do exactly that, and they’ve convinced everyone it’s normal. Tap back to where content was moments ago, and it’s…
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Facebook’s Hostile Interface Harms Neurodivergent Users
Try typing a bloody comment on Facebook these days. Your cursor hovers near a word, and boom: a pop-up suggesting pages you don’t care about. You’re mid-sentence, and Facebook’s autocomplete hijacks your keyboard to shove names and suggestions down your throat. You can’t move, type, or think without being interrupted by something trying to “help”…