Good job, Mozilla! But Edge isn't the only browser resorting to dark patterns nowadays. Think you might be able to so something about this?
this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2026
221 points (99.6% liked)
Technology
88816 readers
3989 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Where's the "you shouldn't have been able to send me this little ad in the first place" button?
Not really a dark pattern unless it keeps showing relentlessly?. Its OK to show something to let you know of a new feature.
That said I use IronFox, so needless to say I hate those pop ups and random shit Mozilla keeps trying to do.
I fking hate "Not now" and "Later" as the only rejection button.
how about a "not ever" button?
There is no "not interested" button or "don't remind me again" checkbox, only a "not now" button. This implies the pop-up could return. I also couldn't find anything in the settings to permanently disable VPN features. Perhaps the ad won't ever return, but it very much looks like a dark pattern and gives the impression Firefox isn't giving me the choices I want.
Yea thats a good point. That language used implies "ask me again later". I see what you mean now, and that definitely seems like a dark pattern.
especially relevant when they tried pushing AI features on us not that long ago...
Only having "Not now" as a way to reject it is very scummy IMO.
Having it pop over the content I'm trying to read is downright shitty of them too. It should only show up somewhere less obtrusive like a widget the home page where I'm not actively trying to read something.
but we hoped that, when faced with independent evidence of harmful design practices impacting Windows users, they would also want better for people
That is quite a thing to sya with a straight face. Its like saying that you hoped that, when faced with a new victim, Hannibal Lecter would this time not go for a liver with a fine Chianti
Firefox itself is a crap show of annoying popups and ads that you can't permanently dismiss, so maybe they should look at their own stuff too.
Off-topic: I tripped on the (first) name "Cennydd" in the article until my poorly developed Welsh orthography skills kicked in and I realised that that's pronounced "Kenneth".
Amusingly, though perhaps not for Cennydd, Google Translate is confused by it and translates it as "Cynthia".
man I really wish qutebrowser didn't turn to crap. I used to love that thing. Now i'm on firefox and bleh I don't like it.
i wish opera never ditched it's custom engine, yet here we are...