Travel booking app Hopper is shelling out $35 million. That’s the price of settling with the FTC over allegations it used dark patterns to hide fees from customers.
The FTC said Hopper misled travelers about the costs and benefits of its services. Think hidden charges buried in the fine print, confusing cancellation policies, and fees that only appeared at the last step of booking.
Dark patterns are interface tricks designed to make you do things you didn’t intend. In Hopper’s case, the government says the company used them to disguise real costs while making services like cancel-for-any-reason look like a better deal than they actually were.
Hopper’s not admitting wrongdoing — that’s standard for settlements. But $35 million is a serious number, and the message from the FTC is clear: tricking users with hidden fees won’t fly.
