Manipulative Preselection

No operable specimen exists yet; the illustration is editorial. Before applying this to a product, verify whether the default option can actually be found and turned off easily, whether the disclosure appears at the exact point of choice, and the specific pre-ticking and consent-validity requirements of the relevant jurisdiction.

{
  "harm": "People end up carrying an extra charge, data share, or consent they never actively chose, often discovered only afterward",
  "repair": "Turn off any default that adds cost or shares data, complete consent through an explicit affirmative action, and state what each default does at the point of choice."
}

{
  "id": "preselection",
  "type": "anti",
  "name": {
    "zh": "操纵性预选",
    "en": "Manipulative Preselection"
  },
  "aliases": [
    "预先勾选",
    "默认选中陷阱",
    "Pre-ticked Default"
  ],
  "granularity": "component",
  "intents": [
    "audit-choice",
    "protect-privacy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "anti-pattern",
    "default settings",
    "pre-ticked",
    "informed consent",
    "privacy"
  ],
  "definition": "Set the option that benefits the business — a consent checkbox, an added extra, a pricier tier — as the default, exploiting the tendency not to notice or not to bother changing a default, so that money, data, or consent transfers without an active choice.",
  "boundary": "A default itself is a necessary and useful mechanism; the failure is a default that transfers money, data, or consent without an active choice. Different from confirmshaming: the pressure here comes from the default state itself, not from any belittling wording. Different from visual interference: visual interference relies on visual weight to make one option stand out; here the problem holds even with a perfectly neutral visual treatment, because the default has already made a business-favoring choice on the person's behalf.",
  "signature": [
    "A consent checkbox, subscription upgrade, or data-sharing option is already ticked rather than left blank for the person to choose",
    "The default in a checkout or settings flow adds a pricier tier, an extra item, or more data sharing than the person has expressed a preference for, matching the business's interest rather than theirs",
    "The person must actively find and remove the default before they return to a state with no extra charge or data sharing"
  ],
  "when": [
    "Auditing the default state of consent checkboxes, subscription tier selection, or data-sharing toggles",
    "Auditing a checkout flow for add-ons, insurance, or a pricier tier that is added or selected by default"
  ],
  "when_not": [
    "Recommending it as a way to raise conversion or average order value",
    "Flagging every use of a default as this anti-pattern — a default is a necessary mechanism; the problem is only whether it moves money, data, or consent without an active choice"
  ],
  "tradeoff": "Repair by turning off any default that adds cost or shares data until the person actively opts in; consent must be completed through an explicit affirmative action rather than a pre-ticked box waiting to be noticed and unchecked; this adds one extra click or choice, but returns the decision to the person.",
  "comparison": {
    "focus": "Whether the default state itself transfers money, data, or consent without an active choice",
    "mechanism": "Setting the business-favoring option as the default and relying on the default effect and inaction",
    "cost": "People carry a charge, data share, or consent they never actively chose, often discovered later in a bill or in how their data was used"
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "deceptive-preselection",
      "title": "Deceptive Patterns · Preselection",
      "url": "https://www.deceptive.design/types/preselection",
      "claim": "Defines preselection as presenting a default option already selected on the person's behalf to influence their decision, exploiting the default-effect bias, and cites a 2021 campaign donation page that used a pre-ticked checkbox to induce an extra donation.",
      "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
      "archive": {
        "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://www.deceptive.design/types/preselection",
        "status": "available",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T05:59:41.156Z",
        "jobId": "spn2-101f2f15d5d34388ba83619478dce48d6bdb9034",
        "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916060004/https://deceptive.design/types/preselection/",
        "timestamp": "20260916060004"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gdpr-art-4-11",
      "title": "gdpr-info.eu · Art. 4 GDPR: Definitions (11) Consent",
      "url": "https://gdpr-info.eu/art-4-gdpr/",
      "claim": "Article 4(11) defines consent as any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes given by a statement or by a clear affirmative action signifying agreement to processing; this supports the rule that consent must come from an active action.",
      "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
      "archive": {
        "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://gdpr-info.eu/art-4-gdpr/",
        "status": "available",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T05:25:53.778Z",
        "jobId": "spn2-34fc4f6a34caf6ee071698524a9e62244ec0967b",
        "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916052653/https://gdpr-info.eu/art-4-gdpr/",
        "timestamp": "20260916052653"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gdpr-recital-32",
      "title": "gdpr-info.eu · Recital 32: Conditions for consent",
      "url": "https://gdpr-info.eu/recitals/no-32/",
      "claim": "States plainly that silence, pre-ticked boxes, or inactivity should not constitute consent, and that consent should be given by a clear affirmative act such as ticking a box on a website; this supports the finding that a pre-ticked box is not valid consent.",
      "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
      "archive": {
        "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://gdpr-info.eu/recitals/no-32/",
        "status": "pending",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T05:59:43.186Z",
        "error": "status-request-failed",
        "jobId": "spn2-dc5e7158eeb04a7715be8d56b2ff2737d61f0244"
      }
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "target": "privacy-by-design",
      "kind": "conflicts_when",
      "condition": "A default governing personal-data processing is set to collect more data rather than the minimum",
      "reason": "Privacy by design requires the default to be the most protective reasonable option; manipulative preselection sets the default in the opposite direction, so the two directly conflict on which way the default should point.",
      "basis": "editorial"
    },
    {
      "target": "hidden-subscription",
      "kind": "composes_with",
      "condition": "A pre-selected paid tier or add-on silently converts to ongoing billing after a trial",
      "reason": "Preselection decides what is chosen by default at entry; hidden subscription decides whether that later becomes clearly disclosed as recurring billing. The two mechanisms often appear together and should be logged separately.",
      "basis": "editorial"
    },
    {
      "target": "confirmshaming",
      "kind": "related",
      "condition": "Auditing whether a choice was informed and voluntary",
      "reason": "Both influence free choice without outright coercion, but by different pressure mechanisms: one relies on the default state itself, the other on belittling decline wording; check them separately.",
      "basis": "editorial"
    }
  ],
  "rules": [
    {
      "when": "Designing any data processing or charge that requires the person's consent",
      "instruction": "Consent must be completed through the person's explicit affirmative action; the option must not be pre-ticked.",
      "strength": "must",
      "basis": "editorial"
    },
    {
      "when": "A default option would add cost or share more data",
      "instruction": "That option must default to off until the person actively chooses to turn it on.",
      "strength": "must",
      "basis": "editorial"
    },
    {
      "when": "Presenting a default option at the point of choice",
      "instruction": "State plainly, right next to it, what the default actually does, including cost or data use.",
      "strength": "recommend",
      "basis": "editorial"
    }
  ],
  "anti": {
    "harm": "People end up carrying an extra charge, data share, or consent they never actively chose, often discovered only afterward",
    "repair": "Turn off any default that adds cost or shares data, complete consent through an explicit affirmative action, and state what each default does at the point of choice."
  },
  "demo": null,
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "editorialStatus": "drafted",
  "requirements": [],
  "demoCapabilities": [],
  "implementationNote": "No operable specimen exists yet; the illustration is editorial. Before applying this to a product, verify whether the default option can actually be found and turned off easily, whether the disclosure appears at the exact point of choice, and the specific pre-ticking and consent-validity requirements of the relevant jurisdiction.",
  "image": {
    "src": "/images/preselection.webp",
    "alt": "A fictional FIELDNOTES checkout page where several toggles in an option list are already switched on and one add-on line has been added by default to the summary block, with a small warning triangle beside the pre-ticked row."
  },
  "searchTerms": [
    "反模式",
    "默认设置",
    "预先勾选",
    "知情同意",
    "隐私"
  ]
}