Obstructed alternative
Rejecting optional tracking needs multiple panels
A fictional consent layer accepts optional tracking in one click but requires opening three panels and disabling twelve switches to refuse it.
Individual HTML example · Obstruction
Guest checkout hidden behind account copy
A fictional shop displays account creation as the only button and places guest checkout inside a collapsed paragraph titled “Other information”.
This is an original fictional comparison. It depicts no real company and is not a legal finding or safe harbour.
Guest checkout hidden behind account copy
A fictional shop displays account creation as the only button and places guest checkout inside a collapsed paragraph titled “Other information”.
Save time with an account. The visible action creates an account; the guest path is buried in unrelated copy.. Selected: Create account. Not selected: Continue as guest
Choose a checkout route. Guest checkout and optional account creation appear together.. Not selected: Continue as guest. Not selected: Create account. Choice consequences, expanded: The consequence of selecting “Continue as guest” is displayed beside the option.
Why the first version can mislead: The route adds avoidable effort between the user’s stated intention and completion. In this retail basket example, the obstacle is: “The visible action creates an account; the guest path is buried in unrelated copy.” Evidence should show whether the alternative remains usable and whether “Continue as guest” reaches the represented state. A viable alternative becomes materially harder to discover than the business-preferred account route.
What a fairer design does: Present guest and account routes together with clear consequences and comparable interaction effort.
Show annotated differences (2)
Potentially problematic version
- Not selected: Continue as guestIn “Guest checkout hidden behind account copy”, this element shows how obstructed alternative can shape the decision.
Neutral alternative
- Choice consequences, expanded: The consequence of selecting “Continue as guest” is displayed beside the option.In “Guest checkout hidden behind account copy”, this element keeps the clearer alternative visible at the same decision point.
Review questions (3)
- How many steps, waits and channel changes separate “Create account” from the completed retail basket outcome?
- Capture every peer option, its default state and visual prominence; do those states support “The options address the same decision”?
- Measure the same task through the clearest available route: does the effort difference persist once “Different actions with genuinely different complexity” is accounted for?
Complete pattern context
How this example relates to Obstructed alternative
A relevant alternative within the current decision is hidden, blocked or made materially harder than the business-favoured action. 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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Related examples
Open this example
Account deletion obstruction
Deactivation presented as deletion
A fictional platform labels a control “Delete account”, but the confirmation only hides the profile and leaves data and reactivation available indefinitely.
Account deletion obstruction
Deletion buried behind an unsupported ticket
A fictional retailer places account deletion behind six help pages and requires a support ticket containing an order number even for users who never ordered.
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