alt Hacker NewsThis is not a dark pattern, it's just a constraint that the app stores place on the pricing disclosure that is very non-intuitive. You have to mark your app as "free" to download if you charge a recurring subscription fee. You can only mark it as paid if there is a one time fee to download the app.
Our FAQ and pricing pages all list that it is a paid only app. All of our ads explain that it's subscription based. Anyone who asks we're very transparent about it. If there's somewhere else where you think we can list it to make it more clear I'm happy to add it, just not sure where that would be.
Replies
I don't see any mention of the price in the FAQ[0], which I had to guess the url of because it doesn't have a link anywhere on the homepage. Trying to guess the url of the pricing page doesn't yield any results.
I cannot find a FAQ or pricing page on your website.
What FAQ and pricing pages? Your website makes no mention of pricing at all.
Edit: The "dark" pattern is in the registration flow. It doesn't mention that the app requires a subscription anywhere until after you've created an account. Surely you could add a disclaimer before creating your account? This has nothing to do with the App Store.
Edit 2: I'm not saying you intended to implement a dark pattern. Just perhaps a UX oversight.
Edit 3: The download page would be another great place to put this info, since that's the primary CTA on the home page (there's 4 prominent download buttons).