LumaGuard

Surfaces manipulative design patterns — urgency tricks, hidden costs, confirmshaming, cookie manipulation, and more.

The web is full of design tricks engineered to make you buy things you don't want, agree to terms you didn't read, and miss the hidden costs. LumaGuard scans every page you visit and tells you exactly what's trying to manipulate you. A countdown timer that resets every time you reload. A "limited stock" warning that's been running for six months. A subscription checkbox pre-ticked at checkout. A cancel button that takes you through five screens of guilt. An ad styled to look like an editorial recommendation. LumaGuard catches them all — in real time, on any site you visit. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 → Fake urgency — fake countdown timers, fake stock levels, fabricated visitor counters → Hidden costs — fees that only appear at checkout, pre-ticked add-ons, surprise subscriptions → Confirmshaming — manipulative button copy like "No thanks, I prefer paying full price" → Disguised advertisements — paid content styled to look like editorial or organic results → Subscription traps — hard-to-find cancel flows, auto-renew tricks, hidden trial-to-paid conversions → Cookie manipulation — pre-ticked consent, hidden reject buttons, asymmetric button styling → Forced action — newsletter signup walls, account-required for basic features, dark overlays → Roach motels — easy to sign up, deliberately hard to leave 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲 LumaGuard doesn't block anything. It doesn't change how pages work. It just shows you what's happening. Click the icon to see a clear summary: how many dark patterns are on this page, grouped by category, with severity ratings (High, Medium, Low). Tap any pattern to see the exact element on the page — LumaGuard scrolls to it and highlights it for you. You stay in control. You make the decision. You just do it with the full picture. 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝘄𝗵𝗼 • Online shoppers tired of fake "only 2 left in stock" pressure • Researchers, journalists, and academics studying deceptive design • UX designers learning to spot (and avoid building) dark patterns • Regulators and policy professionals tracking real-world examples • Anyone who wants to make calmer, less manipulated decisions online 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 — 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 LumaGuard is currently free and uses a rule-based detection engine — a curated set of patterns informed by published research from the Princeton Web Transparency project, the EU Digital Services Act, and academic dark pattern literature. LumaGuard Pro — coming soon — will add AI-powered real-time analysis that catches subtler patterns the rule engine misses, plus per-site history, weekly summaries, and a personal dark pattern feed. 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗖𝗬 LumaGuard runs entirely in your browser. No data leaves your device. No tracking, no analytics, no account required. Page content is scanned locally and never uploaded anywhere. Built with Manifest V3. Strict-minimum permissions. Open about what it does and doesn't do.