The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) fined PhysicsWallah (PW) Limited Rs 5,00,000 on June 1, 2026 and McAfee Software India Private Limited Rs 1,00,000 on May 20, 2026 for deploying dark patterns prohibited under the 2023 dark patterns guidelines.
Dark patterns are interface designs that trick or nudge users into choices they did not intend to make. Both companies fixed their interfaces after receiving notices. The CCPA penalised them anyway.
What did McAfee do?
- Its subscription renewal prompt offered only “Accept Risk” or “Renew Now,” with no neutral “Cancel” or “Skip” option.
- “Accept Risk” appeared in subdued grey, while “Renew Now” was displayed with a prominent red background.
- The close button did not appear in the screenshot of the interface placed on record.
- Advocate Krishna Nigam triggered the case with a representation to the CCPA on September 1, 2025.
- McAfee recorded 3,55,133 renewals during January to December 2025, substantially while the interface was live.
McAfee modified the interface on December 16, 2025, after the CCPA’s notice, replacing “Accept Risk” with “Skip” or “No, thanks.”
What did PhysicsWallah do?
The CCPA opened this case on its own (suo motu) after reviewing pw.live and the PW app, and found three problems:
- A pre-ticked “Donate for PW Foundation” checkbox added Rs 10 to each transaction unless the user unticked it. It ran from February 14, 2024 to December 24, 2025 and collected roughly Rs 2.47 crore from over 21,36,962 users.
- Clicking “Know More” beside the donation displayed messaging about funding marriages for needy people, children’s education, and healthcare for underserved communities, along with a claim of “58K+ beneficiaries”.
- Courses advertised as “free” required users to disclose their mobile number and email address to gain access. This condition was not stated upfront, and some content remained locked even after enrolment.
The CCPA inspected the platform on December 22, 2025, after PW claimed it had already fixed the interface, and found that the donation remained pre-selected by default.
Which dark patterns do these fall under? The CCPA found that McAfee’s renewal prompt triggered four prohibited patterns, while PW’s checkout process triggered three.
McAfee:
- Confirm shaming: Using words, video or audio to create fear, shame, ridicule or guilt to nudge a user into buying or continuing a subscription. “Accept Risk” framed declining renewal as accepting danger.
- Interface interference: A design element that highlights some information while obscuring other relevant information to misdirect the user. “Renew Now” got a prominent red treatment, while the opt-out option appeared in subdued grey.
- Trick question: Deliberately confusing or vague wording that…
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