Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Exit-intent popups
Raised as a usability problem by 20 people on Hacker News over 12 years (2013–2024), in 14 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Pop-ups appear every time someone tries to leave the siteUnreviewed
20132026- Exit button sends private browsing users to Google, where a cookie pop-up appears and could alert someone2024-10-10
- Popup close button is hidden, so users can't easily dismiss it and must hunt for the X2024-02-18
- Pop-up triggers when user only switches tabs, not leaving the site2018-02-21
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 20 complaints
- Triple-shift triggers a Windows Sticky Keys dialog that blocks the exit and confuses the user2024-10-10
- Clicking exit leaves the demo page in browser history, so pressing back returns to it2024-10-10
- Exit button sends private browsing users to Google, where a cookie pop-up appears and could alert someone2024-10-10
- Popups appear when cursor nears back button or on scroll, interrupting the user before they can stop them2024-05-29
- Popup close button is hidden, so users can't easily dismiss it and must hunt for the X2024-02-18
- Back button on mobile is hijacked to show exit-intent content2019-12-23
- Overlay forces a guilt-trip opt-in to leave, pushing visitors into staying2019-04-02
- Pop-up triggers when user only switches tabs, not leaving the site2018-02-21
- Pop-up triggers when switching tabs, then blocks the page and makes users forget their purpose2017-08-11
- Popup triggers on cursor movement and will not dismiss2016-01-10
- Overlay pops up on internal link clicks, interrupting people who aren't leaving2014-12-29
- Exit popup fires falsely when switching browsers, annoying the user into abandoning purchase2014-12-29
- Modal keeps reappearing whenever the mouse leaves the page, even after being closed2014-10-23
- Green Try it now button leads elsewhere, tiny See it in action link hidden, demo not active2014-08-04
- Fires when mouse merely moves, blocking content the reader wants to see2014-08-04
- Popups appear when leaving the page and feel unwanted and annoying2014-05-29
- Exit-intent popups force users to dismiss them before leaving the page2014-05-29
- Pop-ups appear every time user tries to navigate away from site2014-05-29
- Popup appears when closing tab, feels aggressive and irritating to users2013-11-21
- Popup animates too slowly and appears at the bottom where it is easily missed2013-11-06