Fake countdown timers and constant nagging: The dark patterns websites use to manipulate you into buying

It sounds sinister and it can be: Unscruplous traders will stop at nothing to push consumers into making decisions that they wouldn't otherwise make, writes John Hearne

Nagging is among the most irritating of the dark patterns. You’re trying to buy something and suddenly you’re hit by pop-up after pop-up, inviting you to join an email list or take similar action, when all you want to do is locate the product you wish to buy.

Dark patterns. It sounds like the name of the next sci-fi blockbuster. In reality, the phrase refers to sharp practice by unscrupulous traders trying to push you into making decisions you would not otherwise make.

It takes many forms: you get to a ticket purchase page and a countdown timer starts. A message tells you that three other people are currently thinking about purchasing this item, and there’s only one left. Relevant information is obscured or spelled out in a font that’s too tiny to see.