79 per cent of OTT users encounter dark patterns on streaming platforms: LocalCircles

MUMBAI: India’s OTT boom may have given viewers more choice than ever, but many say it has also come with a few hidden strings attached. A nationwide survey by LocalCircles has found that nearly eight in ten streaming users have encountered alleged “dark patterns”, with complaints ranging from hidden cancellation options and surprise charges to misleading subscription offers and repeated upgrade prompts.

The findings come as India’s OTT industry enters a more mature phase. After years of rapid expansion fuelled by affordable smartphones, inexpensive mobile data and increasing digital adoption, the market is showing signs of slowing. According to Ormax Media estimates, India’s OTT audience crossed 601 million viewers in 2025, but annual growth fell to below 10 per cent, well below the pace seen in previous years.

As subscriber growth moderates and competition intensifies, streaming platforms have increasingly focused on improving monetisation through subscription models and advertising. Consumer groups, however, argue that this shift has also led to greater use of interface designs that nudge users towards purchases or make it harder to opt out.

The LocalCircles survey gathered more than 118,000 responses from users across 324 districts. Respondents included 61 per cent men and 39 per cent women, with 44 per cent coming from Tier I cities, 29 per cent from Tier II and the remainder from Tier III, IV and V locations. The organisation said it also used an AI-powered dark pattern detection engine to verify complaints across 12 OTT applications.

One of the biggest concerns was the difficulty of cancelling subscriptions. Among 16,550 respondents, 60 per cent said cancellation options were often unavailable or deliberately hidden. Of these, 22 per cent said the issue occurred very frequently, while 38 per cent experienced it occasionally.

Recurring billing after cancellation also emerged as a significant issue. Among 18,926 respondents, 40 per cent said they continued to be charged even after cancelling their subscriptions, a practice categorised as a SaaS billing dark pattern.

Unexpected charges were another common grievance. Around 72 per cent of 16,014 respondents said they only discovered after subscribing that some films or shows required additional rental payments despite expecting them to be included in their plans. Consumer protection authorities classify this as a “bait and switch” practice.

Similarly, 65 per cent of 16,338 respondents reported encountering additional fees, including taxes and convenience charges, only at the final stage of payment, reflecting what is commonly known as drip pricing.

Subscription traps were also widely reported. Among 17,242 respondents, 65 per cent said cancellation or decline options were difficult to locate, greyed out or displayed less prominently than subscription buttons. Another 43 per cent of 17,029 respondents claimed that logging back into a platform after cancelling automatically restarted their subscription.

Repeated prompts encouraging users to upgrade or subscribe, despite previously declining, proved to be the most frequently reported issue. Among 16,755 respondents, 77 per cent said they regularly encountered such “nagging” behaviour, with more than half saying it happened very frequently.

LocalCircles said complaints were not confined to a single service. Users reported experiencing similar issues across ZEE5, SonyLIV, Amazon Prime Video, JioHotstar, Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV+ and Airtel Xstream Play, suggesting the issue extends across both domestic and international platforms.

The consumer platform noted that complaints surged during the ongoing FIFA World Cup streaming period, particularly against ZEE5, where users alleged automatic enrolment into plans, misleading subscription disclosures, unexpected charges and difficulties obtaining refunds. It added that similar complaints had also been received against several competing platforms.

The findings come despite the Central Consumer Protection Authority issuing guidelines in 2023 prohibiting deceptive online practices known as dark patterns. LocalCircles said it has written to both the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the CCPA, urging stricter enforcement of the existing rules.

As India’s streaming market evolves from rapid expansion to long-term retention, the survey suggests that transparency, simpler subscription processes and stronger consumer protections may become just as important as blockbuster content in keeping viewers engaged.