ROACH MOTEL IN UX DESIGN: REAL LIFE EXAMPLE + BREAKDOWN

A simple image with Roach Motel written on it.


Ever tried cancelling a free trial and felt trapped?

Five years ago, I subscribed to an online academy to learn creative writing. Well—“subscribed” is generous. I simply clicked their Instagram ad and their website welcomed me with a free trial. It was 2020 and everyone was desperate to feel useful, so I went for it. 

After the first day, I realized it wasn’t the kind of creative writing course I wanted. It was too basic, and at the time, I had gone past basics. So naturally, I tried to remove my payment details.

 That’s when the nightmare began. 

It felt like a cult you enter easily… but leaving? Oh no. Leaving required spiritual warfare.

 Every button led to another button. Every link proved to be a dead end. I clicked “Manage Account” and was redirected to “Upgrade Plan.”  So many options, but none could help me remove my payment details.

 Finally, after too much struggle, I found the option to remove my card details.

 But I won’t tell you that they still billed me after one month. And when I wrote an email, they apologized, promised it wouldn’t happen again, and compensated me with three months free subscription to take any course I wanted. And the next month? They charged me again. Even more handsomely than the last time. 

At the end, I had to contact the bank to block the card. 

Roach Motel.

WHAT IS ROACH MOTEL IN UX DESIGN?

The deceptive experience I had, there is a name for it in UX design: Roach Motel

A Roach Motel is a dark UX pattern where a product makes it extremely easy for users to sign up, but frustrating or almost impossible for them to cancel, unsubscribe, or delete their account. 

it's one of the most commonly used dark patterns in digital products. And because so many companies use it, users often assume it's normal. 

But it's not normal; it is deception under the guise of "business strategy".

EXAMPLES OF ROACH MOTEL PATTERNS

A product may be using this pattern if:
  • Cancellation options are hidden behind multiple processes.
  • "Delete account" links are broken or redirected.
  • The website keeps looping users back to the homepage.
  • Unsubscribing requires emails, phone calls, multiple confirmations.
  • Free trials demand credit card details before access.

These patterns are intentionally designed to slow users down till they give up.

WHY ROACH MOTEL BREAKS TRUST

Dark patterns like Roach Motel increase subscription retention by making the user too tired or confused to leave, not by improving the product. 

  They exploit user frustration for profit and this harms user experience, damaging brand credibility and trust. 

ETHICAL UX DESIGN ALWAYS PRIORITIZES USERS

As UX designers, our responsibility is to simply help users achieve the outcome they want, not the one that benefits the business at their expense. 

Good UX asks:

"How can we help the user?"

Dark UX asks:

"How can we use the user to help the company?"

Good design shouldn't feel like manipulation because users always remember products that made them feel trapped.

Have you ever been caught in Roach Motel trap? tell me your experience.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHAT IS UX DESIGN?

Image
I heard about UX design for two years before I actually understood what it was. I knew it had something to do with  design  and that was all there was to know, or so I thought. Some people said it was the older sister of graphic design, where you create the images and animate them. What I Thought UX Design Was At first, I believed UX design was just about visuals—colors, fonts, layouts. Basically, the creative side of things. And in a way, UX design does share some traits with graphic design: creativity, color play, visual appeal. But UX design is not graphic design. There’s so much more at stake, and so much more on the table with UX and UI design. It’s more than designing something beautiful; it’s designing something  useful.  It’s designing to make life easier for people. Stay with me. A Real-Life Example of Bad UX A frustrated site user Imagine going on a website to pay your electricity bill. None of the available payment options seem to be working. You’re frustr...
Read more

Good Design shouldn’t be a guessing game.

Image
I stayed in a hotel two nights ago, and the AC wasn’t working.  Quickly, I went straight into problem-solving mode. I noticed there were icons on the AC panel — neatly arranged on a black surface. Instinctively, I assumed they were affordances. One looked like a power button, so I figured it would turn the AC on or off. Another resembled a reset or temperature control. But nothing happened. I kept pressing, waiting, adjusting. Still nothing.  Then, in my frustration, I finally noticed something I had completely ignored before — there was a standing fan in the room. That’s when it hit me; the AC wasn’t working at all. Later I also learnt those “buttons” I thought were affordances? They were just decorations. Stickers slapped on the surface without use.  I felt oddly disappointed. And for a brief moment, I imagined Don Norman somewhere, deeply offended. I’ve been reading The Design of Everyday Things , and one of Norman’s biggest frustrations is doors — doors you don’t know...
Read more

Why User Research Is Important in UX Design

Image
When I started my very first UX project, I did what most beginners do: I rushed into designing without questions. No surveys. No interviews.  And honestly? It showed. Halfway through the project I found myself doing iteration after iteration because things weren’t adding up. The app looked good, but it wasn’t solving any real problem. I had designed based on assumptions — not real user needs. That was my first lesson in the importance of user research So… what exactly is user research? User research is the process of understanding the people you’re designing for. Their frustrations, desires, habits, limitations, goals, and expectations. It’s not just asking:  " Do you like this? ”  It’s asking: “Why?” “When?” “How?” “What were you thinking at that moment?”  The goal is to hear users express themselves in their own words, not to force them into yes-or-no boxes.  My latest project showed me the difference For my current project, I decided to do things properly. I ...
Read more