Forced registration
Profile required before price estimate
A fictional repair service asks visitors to create a profile and verify a phone number before it reveals even an indicative service price.
Individual HTML example · Forced action
Account wall at guest checkout
A fictional retailer removes guest checkout after an item is added and requires a full account, date of birth and saved password before payment can continue.
This is an original fictional comparison. It depicts no real company and is not a legal finding or safe harbour.
Account wall at guest checkout
A fictional retailer removes guest checkout after an item is added and requires a full account, date of birth and saved password before payment can continue.
Create an account to continue. No guest route is shown after the basket has been prepared.. Email address: Enter email address. Date of birth: Enter date of birth. Password: Enter password. Register and save my details
Choose how to check out. Guest checkout and optional account creation are presented together.. Delivery email: Enter delivery email. Continue as guest. Purpose and refusal effect, expanded: The form explains why “Continue as guest” is requested and what happens if it is not used.
Why the first version can mislead: The additional dependency controls access to the checkout goal. The panel states: “No guest route is shown after the basket has been prepared.” Reviewers need to establish whether “Register and save my details” is necessary for the selected task or pressures the user into a separable action. A shopper may surrender unnecessary information or abandon a purchase after investing time in the basket.
What a fairer design does: Keep a clearly labelled guest route beside account creation and request only delivery and payment data needed for the order.
Show annotated differences (2)
Potentially problematic version
- Register and save my detailsIn “Account wall at guest checkout”, this element shows how forced registration can shape the decision.
Neutral alternative
- Purpose and refusal effect, expanded: The form explains why “Continue as guest” is requested and what happens if it is not used.In “Account wall at guest checkout”, this element keeps the clearer alternative visible at the same decision point.
Review questions (3)
- What functional need makes “Register and save my details” necessary for the online retail checkout goal, and can that need be met with less disclosure or commitment?
- Which fields or permissions are required, what happens on refusal, and does the resulting state support this criterion: “A desired goal is gated by account creation”?
- Could the stated purpose make this dependency genuinely necessary under the boundary “Account creation that is inherently necessary for persistent account functionality”, and what product evidence would demonstrate that necessity?
Complete pattern context
How this example relates to Forced registration
The user must create an account, or is led to believe one is required, to complete a goal that could plausibly be provided without it. The label describes a recurring design mechanism; whether a particular implementation is harmful or unlawful depends on the complete journey, audience, evidence and rules within scope.
The full guide explains inclusion and exclusion criteria, harms, fair design principles, evidence questions and the relevant EU legal information layers. The example page isolates one scenario so it can be shared and discussed without reproducing the complete library on one page.
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Sources and provenance for this example
Evidence base
Sources
- Dark commercial patternsOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development · Secondary · checked 2026-09-14 · OECD Digital Economy Papers No. 336
- Unfair Commercial Practices DirectiveEuropean Parliament and Council of the European Union · Primary · checked 2026-08-09 · Directive 2005/29/EC; CELEX 02005L0029-20220528