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Zepto, BookMyShow, IndiGo among 9 apps penalised by CCPA for using dark patterns

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 06 Aug 2026 4 hours ago

New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed penalties on nine digital platforms for their use of “dark patterns” which can trap consumers into making “unexpected purchases” or “unexpected decisions”. Information given to the Rajya Sabha by the government has revealed that the regulator has received almost Rs 20 lakh in penalties from firms that breached India’s guidelines on dark patterns.

This action pertains to popular websites like Zepto, BookMyShow, IndiGo, Physics Wallah, FirstCry, PharmEasy, McAfee, SpiceJet and the coaching website Anuj Jindal. The regulator claimed these companies had hidden charges, add-on subscriptions, misleading prompts and subscription tactics in their interface designs. The government says a number of platforms have now deleted or adapted the highlighted practices.

Zepto, BookMyShow, IndiGo among those penalised

Zepto was fined Rs 7 lakhs by the CCPA after it noticed these charges of handling and membership fees were added at checkout, raising the final price of the goods visible to customers. The regulator classified the hidden charges as “drip pricing” and the automatic addition of membership as “basket sneaking”. As per the government’s statement, Zepto has discontinued the identified practice.

BookMyShow was told to take off a predetermined amount of Rs 1 for its non-profit organisation, BookASmile. The default selection was ‘basket sneaking’, which requires users to take action to avoid it, the CCPA said.

IndiGo also came under scrutiny for using the phrase “No, I will take risk” when passengers declined travel protection. The airline subsequently switched to the neutral “No, I will not add to the trip” option after the regulator intervened.

Physics Wallah and others face action

Physics Wallah was fined Rs 5 lakh as the regulator discovered that the application had a pre-selected donation of Rs 10 in its PW Foundation and had prompts urging the app users to keep it selected. The CCPA also argued that they must be able to use the site for free courses without having to provide their personal data first. The company has paid the fine and stopped the practices, and the government confirmed that.

The Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, in India have listed 13 deceptive interface practices such as drip pricing, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, false urgency and subscription traps. Such practices are not to be tolerated and will be continued to be enforced by the government on behalf of the consumer, the government said.

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