ShadeGuard — Dark Pattern Detector

About

Stop being manipulated online. ShadeGuard automatically scans every website you visit for 14 types of dark patterns — the manipulative design tricks that e-commerce sites use to pressure you into buying things you don't want, at prices that aren't real.

Every time you land on a webpage, ShadeGuard silently analyzes the content for deceptive tactics and instantly warns you if it finds any. A floating banner appears on the page showing exactly what was detected, and the extension icon shows a badge with the count of dark patterns found.

Here's what ShadeGuard detects:

⏱️ FAKE COUNTDOWN TIMERS
That "ends in 02:14:33" timer? It's probably fake. Many sites use countdown timers that reset when they expire or are server-generated to never actually run out. ShadeGuard spots these and flags them immediately.

⚠️ FALSE SCARCITY & URGENCY
"Only 3 left — order soon!" and "482 people are viewing this right now" are designed to make you panic-buy. These numbers are often completely fabricated. ShadeGuard identifies scarcity language, fake stock warnings, and artificial urgency across every product page.

🏷️ AGGRESSIVE PROMOTIONS
"90% OFF! Was $59.99, now $2.99!" When every product on a site is supposedly 90% off, the original price was never real. ShadeGuard catches inflated price anchoring, "new user exclusive" traps, fake voucher popups ("Congratulations! You've been selected!"), and gamified spin-to-win offers that exist only to harvest your email address.

💰 HIDDEN FEES
That $4.99 item becomes $12.99 at checkout once they add service fees, processing fees, convenience charges, and "calculated at checkout" shipping. ShadeGuard warns you about hidden fee language before you get to checkout.

🔄 SUBSCRIPTION TRAPS
Free trials that silently convert to $29.99/month charges. Auto-renewal that's buried in fine print. Recurring billing you never agreed to. ShadeGuard detects subscription trap patterns, auto-renewal language, and deceptive trial-to-paid conversion text.

😤 CONFIRMSHAMING
"No thanks, I don't want to save $50" — that's a guilt-trip designed to make you feel foolish for declining. ShadeGuard identifies confirmshaming language that manipulates you through shame rather than value.

🎭 MISDIRECTION
Modals that highlight the "Accept" button while making the "No thanks" link almost invisible — tiny font, low contrast, hidden in a corner. ShadeGuard analyzes button sizes and contrast to detect these visual tricks.

📦 FORCED ACTION
Pre-checked boxes that sign you up for newsletters, add insurance to your order, or enroll you in programs you never wanted. ShadeGuard scans forms for pre-checked marketing opt-ins and sneaky add-ons.

🥷 SNEAKING
Items added to your cart without your consent. Prices that change between pages. Terms that are altered after you've made a selection. ShadeGuard watches for these cart manipulation tactics.

👥 FAKE SOCIAL PROOF
Pop-ups showing "Sarah from London just bought Wireless Earbuds — 2 minutes ago!" These "real-time" notifications are almost always fabricated to create FOMO. ShadeGuard detects social proof manipulation patterns across all major platforms.

🚧 HARD TO CANCEL
"To cancel your subscription, please call 1-800-XXX between 9am-5pm EST on a Tuesday." If cancellation requires a phone call, a 30-day notice period, or is deliberately difficult to find — ShadeGuard flags it.

🔒 PRIVACY ZUCKERING
Cookie banners where "Accept All" is a giant green button but "Reject All" is a tiny text link. Consent forms designed to trick you into sharing more data than intended. ShadeGuard analyzes cookie banner design and flags manipulative privacy patterns.

🎰 GAMIFICATION TRAPS
Spin wheels, scratch cards, lucky draws, and mystery boxes — all designed to get you to hand over your email, phone number, or personal information in exchange for a "prize" that's usually worthless. ShadeGuard identifies these data-harvesting games.

🪤 ROACH MOLT
"Sign up in 1 click!" but "To cancel, you must send a written letter to our headquarters." Easy to get in, deliberately hard to get out. ShadeGuard detects the asymmetry between sign-up ease and cancellation difficulty.

HOW IT WORKS

ShadeGuard runs entirely in your browser. Every time you visit a webpage, it scans the visible text and page structure for patterns that match known dark pattern tactics. When it finds something, it:

1. Shows a floating banner in the top-right corner listing what was detected
2. Highlights suspicious elements on the page with dashed outlines
3. Updates the extension icon badge with the count of patterns found
4. Calculates a Trust Score (0-100) based on the severity and quantity of detections
5. Saves results so you can review them later in the History tab

Click the ShadeGuard icon in your toolbar to open the popup, which shows:
- Current page detection results with detailed cards for each pattern type
- A visual Trust Score bar showing how trustworthy the page is
- History of detections across all websites you've visited
- Settings to toggle individual detection categories on or off

WHY SHADEGUARD?

Every day, billions of dollars are spent on purchases that people were manipulated into making. Dark patterns cost consumers more than just money — they erode trust, waste time, and create anxiety. The average person encounters dozens of dark patterns every day without realizing it.

ShadeGuard makes the invisible visible. Once you start seeing dark patterns, you can't unsee them — and you'll never look at a "FLASH SALE" the same way again.

14 DETECTION CATEGORIES
Comprehensive coverage of every major dark pattern type used across the web today. From countdown timers to subscription traps, from fake scarcity to gamification — if it's designed to manipulate you, ShadeGuard will find it.

REAL-TIME PROTECTION
No delayed scanning or batch processing. ShadeGuard analyzes pages as they load and warns you before you make a decision. The banner appears within 2 seconds of the page loading.

COMPLETELY PRIVATE
ShadeGuard runs 100% locally in your browser. No data is sent to any server. No analytics. No tracking. No accounts required. Your browsing history and detection results stay on your device in Chrome's local storage. Period.

FULLY CONFIGURABLE
Not every detection is relevant to every user. Maybe you don't care about gamification traps but really want to catch hidden fees. ShadeGuard lets you toggle each of the 14 detection categories individually, plus control whether the on-page banner appears and whether elements get highlighted.

BEAUTIFUL DESIGN
A sleek dark theme with a purple accent that looks great in your browser. The popup is clean and informative, showing detection cards with clear severity labels (CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM) and a visual Trust Score bar.

OPEN & TRANSPARENT
The code is available for inspection. You can verify exactly what ShadeGuard does — it scans text content, checks CSS selectors, and analyzes DOM structure. Nothing more, nothing less.

FIGHT BACK AGAINST MANIPULATION
Dark patterns work because they're invisible. ShadeGuard makes them visible. Install it today and take back control of your online shopping experience.

Your wallet will thank you.

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Key Features:
• 14 types of dark pattern detection
• Real-time on-page warnings with element highlighting
• Trust Score (0-100) for every page visited
• Badge counter showing detection count
• History tracking across all websites
• Fully configurable settings (toggle any category)
• 100% local — no data leaves your browser
• Works on all websites
• Clean, modern dark-themed UI
• Supports Chrome Manifest V3
• Lightweight and fast
• No account required