Flipkart, Zomato, Reliance Among 26 E-Commerce Giants Declare Compliance To Eliminate Dark Patterns

26 leading e-commerce platforms, including Flipkart, Blinkit, Reliance Retail, Swiggy, Zomato, and Tata 1mg  have voluntarily declared compliance with India's guidelines to eliminate dark patterns. These companies confirmed through self-audits or third-party reviews that their platforms are free from manipulative design practices, marking a major step toward building a transparent and ethical digital marketplace, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution siad in a PIB on Thursday.

"These platforms have conducted internal self-audits or third-party audits to identify, assess and eliminate any presence of dark patterns. All 26 companies have declared that their platforms are free from dark patterns and do not deploy any manipulative user interface designs," the release said.

The proactive industry-wide compliance demonstrates a strong commitment towards consumer transparency, fair trade practices, and ethical digital ecosystems. This voluntary alignment underscores the fact that consumer protection and business growth can go hand-in-hand, strengthening brand trust and long-term credibility, the release further added.

The Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, notified on 30 November 2023, identify and prohibit 13 dark patterns including:

• False Urgency

• Basket Sneaking

• Confirm Shaming

• Forced Action

• Subscription Trap

• Interface Interference

• Bait & Switch

• Drip Pricing

• Disguised Advertisements

• Nagging

• Trick Wording

• SaaS Billing

• Rogue Malware

List of Platforms That Submitted Self-Audit Declarations as follows:

• Page Industries (Jockey, Speedo) – Self-audit conducted; platform free from dark patterns.

• William Penn Pvt. Ltd. (Sheaffer, Lapis Bard) – Self-audit conducted; no dark patterns detected.

• Pharm Easy (Axelia Solutions Pvt. Ltd.) – Internal audit confirms compliance with guidelines.

• Zepto Marketplace Pvt. Ltd. – Platform UI/UX audited; ongoing monitoring in place.

• Curaden India (Curaprox) – Self-audit confirms absence of dark patterns.

• Duroflex Pvt. Ltd. – Self-audit confirms platform compliance.

• Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. – Third-party audit confirms no dark patterns.

• Myntra Designs Pvt. Ltd. – Third-party audit confirms compliance.

• Cleartrip Pvt. Ltd. – Third-party audit confirms platform is dark-pattern-free.

• Walmart India Pvt. Ltd. – Third-party audit concludes no dark patterns.

• MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt. Ltd. – Declared platforms require explicit consumer consent; no pre-ticked boxes.

• BigBasket (Innovative Retail Concepts Pvt. Ltd.) – Internal review completed; remedial measures implemented.

• Tira Beauty (Reliance Retail Ltd.) – Internal review confirms compliance.

• JioMart (Reliance Retail Ltd.) – Platform declared free of dark patterns; continued monitoring.

• Reliance Jewels – Declared fully compliant.

• Ajio – No dark patterns; ongoing platform checks.

• Reliance Digital – Internal review ensures full compliance.

• Netmeds – Declared free of dark patterns.

• Hamleys – Internal review confirms compliance.

• MilBasket – Platform declared compliant.

• Swiggy Ltd. – Self-audit completed; committed to enhancing consumer experience.

• Tata 1mg – Comprehensive self-audit; platform designed for consumer-centric behaviour.

• Zomato – Internal assessment aligns platform with CCPA advisory.

• Blinkit – Internal review affirms transparent, responsible design.

• Ixigo – Declared free of dark patterns, adhering to highest compliance standards.

• Meesho Ltd. – Declared free from all 13 CCPA-identified dark patterns; regular self-checks ongoing.

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