Entre o play e a manipulação: análise do design enganoso em plataformas de streaming a partir de comentários dos usuários na Play Store e Apple Store

Abstract

This research aims to identify deceptive design patterns also known as deceptive patterns in music and video streaming platforms, based on a qualitative analysis of user reviews posted on app stores. The increasing use of persuasive techniques in digital environments raises ethical concerns related to transparency, user autonomy, and informed consent, especially when such strategies take on a manipulative nature. To investigate this phenomenon, 600 user reviews were manually collected from the Play Store and Apple Store, focusing on popular streaming applications. The methodology applied Brignull’s taxonomy of dark patterns, complemented by textual analysis to identify linguistic patterns and emotional content expressed in user feedback. The findings reveal a recurrent presence of patterns such as nagging, obstruction, and forced action, often combined in ways that hinder user navigation and limit their available choices. Comments including words like "ads,forced,"and "hard to cancel"reflect frustrations related to lack of clarity and reduced decision-making freedom. In addition to categorizing these patterns, the study proposes an initial keyword-based analytical model to support future efforts toward automated classification. This work contributes to ongoing discussions about ethics and responsibility in interface design, suggesting directions for future research involving hybrid approaches that combine textual analysis and machine learning, as well as expanding the investigation to other categories of apps.