Hopper, a travel-booking app for flights, hotels and car rentals, promised 'no hidden fees.' At checkout, a 'Swipe to Book' button showed a total price that did not include a pre-selected 'Tip' or a 'VIP Support' charge. Both fees appeared only on a screen the user had to scroll down to find, and both were opted in by default.
The FTC's complaint cited Hopper's own internal testing, which showed the fees were deceptively hidden and that most consumers would decline them if properly disclosed. Internal employee messages described the design as 'tricking users.' VIP Support promised instant access to an agent; many purchasers could not reach one at all. Price Freeze, sold as a way to lock a fare, carried restrictions Hopper did not disclose and did not apply the fee toward the booking as promised.
In July 2026 Hopper agreed to pay $35 million in consumer redress and accepted an order prohibiting it from misrepresenting fees or failing to disclose the total price of any transaction. The case was one of the first enforced under the FTC's Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule.
Kept the pre-selected fees on a scroll-away screen despite internal tests showing most users would decline them, and paid $35M to the FTC.
Pre-selected fees on a scroll-away screen convert at a rate that honest disclosure cannot match, and the revenue difference was the motive.
Internal testing confirmed the deception, but the data showed the dark pattern worked, so the pattern stayed.
A 'no hidden fees' brand promise made the hidden fees a reputational bet, not just a regulatory one.
If your own A/B test shows the design is deceptive and you ship it anyway, the test result becomes the regulator's exhibit — dark patterns are a liability with a built-in paper trail.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE