Expose, document, and neutralize manipulative user-interface practices. A free, open-source dark pattern detection platform for consumer protection and digital rights awareness.

Live App Privacy First PWA Ready Open Source Maintained by LYF Mail

"Consumer protection through literacy, not litigation."
A free, open-source public infrastructure for ethical UX transparency and dark pattern detection from LYF Mail — India's privacy-first digital wellness platform.

PDPR (Public Dark Pattern Registry) is a global, open-source, privacy-first public infrastructure dedicated to exposing, documenting, and neutralizing manipulative user-interface practices commonly known as dark patterns.

Instead of public shaming, legal battles, or corporate punishment, PDPR focuses on:

• 📚 Education — teaching users to recognize manipulation.
• 🔍 Awareness — making deceptive UX visible and understandable.
• 🧬 Scientific detection — pattern analysis grounded in behavioral science.
• ⚖️ Ethical transparency — open methodologies, auditable logic, honest limitations.
• 🛡️ Public digital literacy — empowering consumers to defend themselves.

PDPR is not a commercial product, compliance tool, or legal enforcement system. It is a civic technology initiative, a public educational registry, a digital rights awareness system, and an ethical UX research platform — built to immunize society against manipulation, not merely punish it.

Built by LYF Mail, a privacy-first digital wellness platform serving 50,000+ subscribers across India since 2020, PDPR extends our mission of "Every Choice Shapes Tomorrow" into ethical technology and consumer protection.

Dark patterns are intentionally deceptive design choices that exploit cognitive biases to manipulate users into actions they would not otherwise take. They are everywhere online:

• 🕳️ Roach Motel — easy to get in, nearly impossible to get out (subscriptions, accounts).
• 🎭 Disguised Ads — advertisements designed to look like content or navigation.
• 🎁 Bait & Switch — promising one thing, delivering another.
• ⏰ Urgency & Scarcity — fake countdown timers, false stock alerts.
• 🔒 Privacy Zuckering — tricking users into sharing more data than intended.
• 💰 Hidden Costs — sneaking fees into the final checkout step.
• 📧 Forced Continuity — making cancellation difficult, hidden, or impossible.

Most users feel manipulated but cannot explain how. PDPR provides the language, tools, and knowledge to recognize, understand, and resist manipulation — turning passive victims into informed digital citizens.

• ✔ A public educational registry of dark patterns with scientific documentation.
• ✔ A privacy-first dark pattern detection tool — scan webpages without exposing your data.
• ✔ A consumer protection platform — empowering users to defend themselves.
• ✔ A digital rights awareness system — bridging the gap between UX design and user dignity.
• ✔ An ethical UX research platform — studying manipulation through behavioral science.
• ✔ A Progressive Web App (PWA) — installable, offline-first, accessible anywhere.
• ✔ A community-governed open-source project — transparent, auditable, collaborative.

• ✘ Not a commercial product — no monetization, no premium tiers, no paywalls.
• ✘ Not a compliance tool — we don't certify, audit, or legally evaluate companies.
• ✘ Not a legal enforcement system — no accusations, no shaming, no litigation support.
• ✘ Not a corporate punishment platform — education over retaliation.
• ✘ Not a surveillance system — zero tracking, zero fingerprinting, zero data collection.

A searchable, open database of documented dark patterns across the web:

• Categorized by type — roach motels, disguised ads, bait & switch, urgency traps, privacy zuckering, hidden costs, forced continuity.
• Real-world examples — screenshots, descriptions, and ethical analysis.
• Scientific context — psychological principles exploited by each pattern.
• Community submissions — crowd-sourced documentation with ethical review.

An educational, privacy-first webpage scanner that analyzes UX in real-time:

• Client-side detection — all analysis happens in your browser, no data sent to servers.
• Pattern recognition — identifies common manipulation frameworks in live websites.
• Risk scoring — assigns manipulation risk levels with explainable reasoning.
• Privacy-first scanning — zero personal data collection, zero tracking, zero fingerprinting.

A gamified educational module that teaches users to spot manipulation:

• Interactive examples — test your ability to identify dark patterns.
• Psychology explanations — understand the cognitive biases being exploited.
• Defensive strategies — learn practical techniques to avoid manipulation.
• Progress tracking — build your UX literacy score over time (stored locally only).

Deep dives into the human psychology behind dark patterns:

• Cognitive bias catalog — anchoring, scarcity bias, social proof, loss aversion.
• Neurological impact — how manipulation triggers stress and impulsive decisions.
• Vulnerability factors — why certain populations (elderly, low-income, non-tech-savvy) are disproportionately targeted.
• Behavioral economics — the science of choice architecture and nudging.

A transparent, community-ratified document governing all PDPR activities:

• Detection methodology standards — how we identify and document patterns.
• Non-accusatory language — scientific framing, not corporate shaming.
• Contributor ethics — standards for submissions, reviews, and community conduct.
• Transparency requirements — open methodologies, auditable processes, honest limitations.

Regular public reports on PDPR's own operations:

• Detection accuracy metrics — how reliable our pattern recognition is.
• Community contribution statistics — who is contributing, what is being documented.
• Ethical review outcomes — how governance decisions are made.
• Limitation disclosures — what PDPR cannot detect and why.

PDPR is built with modern, privacy-first web technologies:

PDPR is built on uncompromising privacy principles:

• ✅ Zero tracking — no analytics, no behavioral monitoring.
• ✅ Zero fingerprinting — cannot identify individual users or devices.
• ✅ No personal data storage — we don't know who you are or what you scanned.
• ✅ No behavioral profiling — no user segments, no interest categories, no shadow profiles.
• ✅ Client-side only — all detection happens in your browser. We never see the websites you analyze.
• ✅ Open detection logic — every pattern rule is publicly documented and auditable.

All PDPR activities are governed by:

• Public Ethics Constitution — ratified by the community, not corporate interests.
• Open Governance Framework — transparent decision-making processes.
• Transparent Detection Logic — every flag is explainable, every score is justified.
• Auditable Methodologies — independent researchers can verify our detection standards.

👉 Try PDPR now: pdpr.lyfmail.com

• Scan any webpage for dark patterns instantly.
• Browse the public pattern registry.
• Complete interactive literacy training.
• Install as a PWA for offline access.
• No account required. No tracking. Ever.

pdpr/
├── public/ # Static PWA assets & HTML
│ ├── index.html
│ ├── scan/ # Quick Scan interface
│ ├── registry/ # Pattern Registry browse & search
│ ├── learn/ # Interactive Learn Mode
│ └── manifest.json
├── api/ # Optional API endpoints (community data)
├── detection/ # Modular UX detection engine
│ ├── patterns/ # Individual pattern detection modules
│ ├── scoring/ # Risk scoring algorithms
│ └── explainers/ # Human-readable explanation generators
├── docs/ # Comprehensive documentation
│ ├── governance.md # Ethics Constitution & governance
│ ├── ethics-policy.md # Contributor ethics & conduct
│ ├── methodology.md # Detection methodology standards
│ ├── legal-safety.md # Legal disclaimers & safety notice
│ └── psychology/ # Behavioral science deep dives
├── registry-data/ # Public pattern database (JSON/YAML)
├── tests/ # Detection engine test suite
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
└── SECURITY.md

1. Visit pdpr.lyfmail.com
2. Browse the Pattern Registry — learn what dark patterns look like.
3. Try Quick Scan — paste any website URL to analyze its UX for manipulation signals.
4. Complete Learn Mode — build your dark pattern literacy through interactive training.
5. Install as PWA — tap "Add to Home Screen" on mobile for offline access.

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/lyfmail-official/pdpr.git

2. Install Dependencies

cd pdpr
npm install # or your preferred package manager.

3. Run Locally

npm run dev

4. Explore the Detection Engine

cd detection/
# Modular pattern rules are in detection/patterns/.
# Each pattern is independently testable and auditable.

5. Contribute a new pattern

# See docs/methodology.md for pattern submission standards.
# Submit via GitHub PR following CONTRIBUTING.md.

PDPR welcomes contributions from diverse disciplines:

• 🎨 UX Designers — document patterns, suggest defensive design alternatives.
• 💻 Developers — improve detection engine, build new modules, fix bugs.
• 🧠 Psychologists & Behavioral Scientists — map cognitive biases, validate detection logic.
• 🔬 Researchers — study manipulation trends, publish findings via PDPR.
• 🛡️ Digital Rights Activists — advocate, educate, and spread awareness.
• 🎓 Students & Educators — build curricula, create training materials, teach digital literacy.

Before contributing, please read:

• docs/governance.md — Ethics Constitution and governance rules.
• docs/ethics-policy.md — Contributor ethics and conduct standards.
• docs/methodology.md — Detection methodology and pattern submission standards.
• CONTRIBUTING.md — Technical contribution guidelines.
• CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md — Community behavior standards.

PDPR provides educational information only.

It does not accuse, shame, or legally evaluate companies, products, or individuals.

All detection is:

• Probabilistic — pattern-based analysis, not definitive proof.
• Non-accusatory — scientific framing, not corporate condemnation.
• Scientifically framed — grounded in behavioral science and UX research.

Please read docs/legal-safety.md before contributing or using PDPR for research purposes.

To build the world's first public digital immune system against manipulation.

We believe that:

• Users have a right to understand how interfaces manipulate them.
• Designers have a responsibility to build honest, respectful interfaces.
• Society deserves public infrastructure for digital literacy, not proprietary tools locked behind paywalls.
• Education is more powerful than punishment in creating lasting change.

PDPR is one of nine free, open-source privacy tools built by LYF Mail, a digital wellness platform from Varanasi, India, serving 50,000+ subscribers since 2020. Explore our other projects:

• Health & Wellness Guide
• Personal Finance Guide
• Career Development Guide
• Creativity Resources
• Mindfulness Practices

Newsletter Signups: Health · Finance · Career · Creativity · Personal Development

PDPR is open-source and community-governed.

License selection is pending ethical governance ratification by the PDPR community. See LICENSE for current status and docs/governance.md for the ratification process.

All documentation and detection methodologies are openly published for public benefit.

• 🌐 Website: lyfmail.com
• 🔍 PDPR Platform: pdpr.lyfmail.com
• 📱 PWA: app.lyfmail.com
• 📚 Documentation: docs.lyfmail.com
• 🎨 Brand Assets: github.com/lyfmail-official/lyfmail-brand-assets
• 🐦 X / Twitter: @lyfmailcom
• 📘 Facebook: thelyfmail
• ▶️ YouTube: LYF Mail
• 💼 LinkedIn: lyfmailcom
• 📧 PDPR Email: pdpr@lyfmail.com
• 📧 General Email: contact@lyfmail.com
• 🆘 Support: support.lyfmail.com

"Every Choice Shapes Tomorrow"

Maintained by LYF Mail · Founded by Ajay Kumar Chaudhary · Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India · Since 2020

Q: What is a dark pattern?
A: A dark pattern is an intentionally deceptive user interface design that manipulates users into making choices they would not otherwise make — such as signing up for unwanted subscriptions, sharing excessive personal data, or paying hidden fees. PDPR documents and educates users about these manipulative practices.

Q: Is PDPR free to use?
A: Yes. PDPR is completely free and open-source. There are no premium tiers, no paywalls, and no advertising. It is a public civic technology initiative maintained by the community and supported by LYF Mail.

Q: Does PDPR track me or store my browsing data?
A: No. PDPR is privacy-first by design. All Quick Scan analysis happens entirely in your browser using client-side JavaScript. We never see, store, or process the websites you analyze. No cookies, no fingerprinting, no tracking.

Q: Can PDPR detect all dark patterns on any website?
A: No system is perfect. PDPR detects known, documented dark pattern frameworks using probabilistic analysis. New manipulation techniques emerge constantly, and some patterns require human judgment. PDPR is a powerful educational tool, not a definitive legal or technical audit system.

Q: Does PDPR name and shame companies?
A: No. PDPR is explicitly non-accusatory. We document patterns scientifically, not condemn specific companies. Our goal is education and awareness, not corporate punishment or public shaming.

Q: How can I contribute a new dark pattern?
A: Anyone can submit a new pattern via GitHub pull request. Please follow our methodology standards documented in docs/methodology.md and ethics guidelines in docs/ethics-policy.md. All submissions undergo community review for scientific accuracy and ethical framing.

Q: Is PDPR available as a mobile app?
A: PDPR is a Progressive Web App (PWA). Visit pdpr.lyfmail.com on your mobile browser and tap "Add to Home Screen" to install it like a native app — no app store required, no permissions demanded.

Q: Does PDPR work offline?
A: Yes. Once installed as a PWA, PDPR's Pattern Registry and Learn Mode work offline. Quick Scan requires an internet connection to fetch the target webpage, but the analysis itself happens locally in your browser.

Q: Who can use PDPR?
A: Everyone. PDPR is designed for everyday consumers, UX designers, digital rights advocates, researchers, students, educators, journalists, and policymakers. No technical knowledge is required.

Q: Is PDPR politically biased?
A: No. PDPR analyzes user interface manipulation patterns from a behavioral science perspective, independent of political content, corporate affiliation, or ideological position.

Q: Can I use PDPR for academic research?
A: Yes. PDPR is explicitly designed to support academic research into deceptive UX, behavioral economics, and digital consumer protection. Please cite PDPR and read our docs/legal-safety.md before publishing findings.

Q: How is PDPR different from commercial dark pattern detection tools?
A: Commercial tools often focus on legal compliance, corporate auditing, or selling remediation services. PDPR is a public educational infrastructure focused on consumer literacy, scientific transparency, and community governance — not profit.

This README is maintained by the LYF Mail team. For issues, feature requests, pattern submissions, or contributions, please visit our GitHub repository.