Confirmshaming and its effect on users : A qualitative study on how confirmshaming in unsubscription processes affect users

Abstract: Introduction – Confirmshaming is a dark pattern that seeks to shame users into acting differently than they normally would. Purpose – The purpose of his study was to determine if and to what extent confirmshaming influences users to stay subscribed, and through this understand how confirmshaming impacts the user experience and thereby the perception of the companies that utilise it. Method – The method of choice was a qualitative case study that subjected participants to confirmshaming in an unsubscription process through a user test, followed by semi‑structured interviews in order to understand the participants’ behaviour and thoughts after they had been a victim of the tactic. Findings – As a result of the study, we found that confirmshaming during unsubscription processes is an ineffective strategy. A majority of users perceive the companies that employ it in a negative fashion and regard them as unprofessional and desperate. This implicates that confirmshaming in unsubscription processes is a loss-loss situation for both users and companies and should not be used. Limitations – This research was solely a qualitative study that focused on a small group of people. The results cannot be generalised to the general public and should instead be viewed as an introduction to the implications of confirmshaming. Further, the study was limited to the user experience and we did not measure how frequently occurring the phenomenon is.