Dark Radar – Detect Dark Patterns & Deceptive Link

Dark Radar is your personal shield against deceptive web design practices. This extension automatically scans web pages to identify and highlight manipulative UI patterns (dark patterns) that trick users into unwanted actions, while also analyzing links for tracking parameters, affiliate tags, and masked destinations.

🎯 Key Features

Real-Time Dark Pattern Detection:

• Fake Countdowns - Identifies artificial time pressure created by resetting timers
• Forced Urgency - Detects manipulative language designed to rush decisions
• Hidden Unsubscribe - Finds opt-out options intentionally made difficult to see
• Misleading Buttons - Catches button actions that don't match their labels
• Pre-selected Options - Highlights options pre-checked to benefit the service
• Hidden Costs - Reveals additional fees buried in small print

Advanced Link Analysis:

• Hover over any link to see detailed analysis with risk scoring (0-100)
• Detects URL shorteners and masked destinations
• Identifies tracking parameters (utm_, fbclid, gclid, etc.)
• Reveals affiliate tags and monetization schemes
• Shows redirect chain warnings for shortened URLs
• Toggle on/off in settings for customized experience

Comprehensive Monitoring:

• Popup Dashboard - Quick overview of current page detections
• Sidebar Panel - Detailed analysis with three tabs (Current Page, History, Statistics)
• Auto-Refresh - Automatically scans when switching tabs or clicking refresh
• Detection History - Track suspicious patterns across all visited sites
• Global Statistics - View total detections, links analyzed, and top offending domains

Privacy-Focused:

• All scanning happens locally in your browser
• No data sent to external servers
• No tracking or analytics
• Open source on GitHub

🛠️ How It Works

1. Install the extension from Firefox Add-ons
2. Browse the web normally - Dark Radar works automatically
3. View detections via the toolbar icon or sidebar (Ctrl+Shift+D / Cmd+Shift+D)
4. Hover over links to see real-time analysis tooltips
5. Customize settings to enable/disable specific detection types

Access settings via the toolbar icon or sidebar:

• Enable/disable real-time protection
• Toggle visual badges on detected patterns
• Control browser notifications
• Adjust scan interval (1-60 seconds)
• Enable/disable individual pattern types
• Toggle link hover analysis on/off
• Clear detection history and statistics

🔒 Permissions Explained

• storage - Save your settings and detection history locally
• activeTab - Scan the current page for dark patterns
• notifications - Alert you to critical threats
• <all_urls> - Analyze any website you visit
• webRequest/webRequestBlocking - Inspect network requests for link analysis

• Visual Badges - Colored labels appear on detected dark patterns
• Risk Scores - Links show 0-100 risk rating with color coding (green/yellow/red)
• Detailed Reports - Export JSON reports of all detections
• Statistics Dashboard - Track patterns over time with charts and metrics

Dark Radar is fully open source and available on GitHub: https://github.com/dakidarts/dark-radar

Report issues, contribute code, or suggest features!

💡 Use Cases

• Online Shopping - Spot fake urgency and hidden costs before checkout
• Email Unsubscribe - Find hidden opt-out links easily
• Link Safety - Check shortened URLs before clicking
• Privacy Protection - Identify tracking parameters in links
• Affiliate Disclosure - See when links contain affiliate tags

Dark-themed interface with smooth animations, intuitive controls, and responsive layout that works seamlessly with Firefox.