Cart Injection
Adding unwanted items to a user's shopping cart without their explicit consent.
What Is Cart Injection?
Cart Injection takes Sneak into Basket a step further by injecting items right at the final payment confirmation step. This often involves high-margin attachments like 'Shipping Insurance' or 'Extended Warranties'.
Users who are operating on autopilot during familiar checkout flows frequently miss the injected item and end up paying more than they intended.
Real-World Examples
✗ Dark Pattern
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How It Works — The Psychology
This pattern exploits several cognitive biases:
- Status Quo Bias — Users assume the cart contains only what they put there.
Severity Assessment
9.0
CRITICAL — Direct financial theft. Illegal in many jurisdictions including the EU.
Detection Checklist
Remediation
- Never add items to a cart automatically. Offer add-ons as optional opt-in choices.
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