The idea
A browser extension that watches for cancellation flows on subscription sites (gyms, streaming, SaaS trials, insurance) and gives you a live checklist the moment you land on a "manage subscription" or "cancel" page. It flags known dark patterns as they appear — hidden cancel buttons, retention offers disguised as confirmation dialogs, forced phone-call redirects — and keeps a running log of every step you clicked, timestamped, in case the cancellation doesn't stick and you need proof for a chargeback.
Why build this
Companies A/B test cancellation friction on purpose; churn-reduction dark patterns are a documented industry practice, and regulators (FTC's "click-to-cancel" rule, EU consumer protection rules) are starting to require easier opt-outs, which means more companies now have to publish cancellation flows even as they keep fighting to bury them. Consumers already know intuitively that canceling is harder than signing up, but nobody keeps evidence of it. A tool that both helps the user get through the maze and produces a timestamped record turns "I tried to cancel and it didn't work" into a defensible dispute.
Stack sketch
- Manifest V3 browser extension (Chrome + Firefox), content scripts injected on a curated domain allowlist
- A small pattern library in JSON: per-domain or per-pattern-type selectors/heuristics for retention modals, fake close buttons, multi-step redirects — crowdsourced and versioned like an ad-blocker filter list
- Local IndexedDB for the click/step log; nothing leaves the device by default
- Optional cloud sync (self-hosted-friendly, simple REST API) for users who want cross-device history or want to export a PDF timeline for a chargeback dispute
- LLM call (Claude via API) only for the fallback case: when a page isn't in the pattern library, screenshot + DOM snippet get sent for a one-shot "where's the actual cancel button" classification
Scope for v1
- In: extension for Chrome, a pattern library covering the ~30 most-complained-about services (pulled from public complaint threads), step logging with timestamps, one-click export of the log as a PDF
- In: manual "report a dark pattern" button so users can flag a new maze and grow the library
- Out: automated form-filling or auto-clicking through cancellation flows (too fragile and legally murky if it fails mid-transaction)
- Out: Firefox/Safari support, cloud sync, mobile
Where it could go
The pattern library is the moat, and it compounds the same way ad-block filter lists do — the more users, the more coverage, and coverage is what makes the tool useful before it's ever needed for a dispute. Once the log/export feature is solid, a natural extension is a "cancellation difficulty score" per company, aggregated anonymously, that could be published as a public leaderboard — pressure companies respond to. Longer term, integrating with card issuers' dispute APIs to auto-attach the exported timeline to a chargeback claim would close the loop from "detect friction" to "get your money back."
Watch out for
Sites change their DOM constantly, so the pattern library needs continuous maintenance or it silently goes stale; lean on the LLM fallback and the community-report button rather than assuming hand-written selectors will keep working.