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Dark Pattern: How Youtube Makes Sure You Don’t Always “Skip Ad”
We all know what design dark pattern is, click baits, misleading visuals, hidden fees, we see them every day. However, YouTube’s dark pattern is so dark that most users don’t even notice it.
The “Skip Ad” Button: the Devil You Never Expected
YouTube get paid by the advertisers when they insert video ads. And they get paid even more when they let the advertisers insert longer video ads. On the other hand, YouTube needs to make sure their users are not too bothered by the long ads, so they created the “Skip Ad” button. However, the advertisers don’t have to pay YouTube when their ads are skipped too soon (via). This means YouTube can’t just let everyone click on the “Skip Ad” button all the time. Furthermore, if skipping ads was too easy, it would hurt the sales of YouTube’s ad-free subscription as well. So while YouTube offers the “Skip Ad” button, YouTube ultimately wants the users to stay away from clicking the “Skip Ad” button.
How the Video Ads Could Have Been Implemented
So we know there are two types of video ads: the non-skippable ads and the skippable ads. In theory, there would naturally only be two design variations:
#1 The Non-skippable: ad plays for a few seconds and ends
#2 The Skippable: ad plays for a few seconds and a “Skip Ad” button appears
Simple right? YouTube could arrange these ads however they want. Spread them out, put them one after another. It can be whatever, but it would always be one of these two design variations. Easy. Predictable.
Now compare these two ads with how YouTube actually does it.
