(March 11): Digital commerce in India has become a theatre of quiet deception. Sellers cheat by design and in the rush of a 10-minute grocery delivery, hundreds of millions of consumers rarely notice they are being fleeced. Yet this innovation is being hijacked by “dark patterns” — design elements that trick users into overpaying or paying for things they never wanted. Everyone from legacy banks and duopolistic airlines to venture-backed startups is gaming the digital interface to extract a psychological tax. A fundamental disregard for an individual’s choice and data sovereignty is the dark side of India’s digital gold rush.

Source: The Edge Markets March 11, 2026 08:36 UTC