Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Sign-up forms
Raised as a usability problem by 23 people on Hacker News over 19 years (2008–2026), in 20 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
Validation error clears both password fields, forcing retypingUnreviewed
20082026- Confirm-password fields only match after a hidden keystroke, showing a false error2021-06-28
- Repeatedly shows 'Passwords do not match' even after retyping matching passwords2020-12-16
- Password silently truncated, so the saved password no longer matches what the user typed2017-12-12
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 22 complaints
- Some apps reject plus-alias emails as invalid, breaking signup and account recovery2026-04-02
- Forced sign-up and OTP verification just to complete a purchase is annoying2026-04-02
- Newsletter opt-in checkboxes keep getting harder to decline, now no choice at all2026-04-02
- Signup looks successful but silently discards input, leaving users unaware2023-03-23
- Tapping a field zooms the screen in unexpectedly, making the form impossible to fill on Chrome Android2022-06-05
- Forced email verification to sign up is annoying and pushes people into giving addresses2022-05-31
- Appears to require an email, but the 'Continue' button works without one, which is a deceptive dark pattern2021-12-11
- Confirm-password fields only match after a hidden keystroke, showing a false error2021-06-28
- Asks for credit card later despite advertised free signup, a bait and switch2021-06-25
- Repeatedly shows 'Passwords do not match' even after retyping matching passwords2020-12-16
- Users skim or skip long legal text and don't understand what they agree to2020-09-10
- Error box appears outside the viewport, so users keep clicking submit unaware of the failure2020-06-16
- Password silently truncated, so the saved password no longer matches what the user typed2017-12-12
- Submit button does nothing and shows no error when creating account2015-07-22
- Validation error clears both password fields, forcing the user to retype them2013-11-11
- Must enter name, email and birthdate even for a simple download2012-04-06
- After signing up with Twitter or Facebook, still forced to fill a long form2012-04-06
- Country and state must be picked from long pull-down menus instead of typed or auto-filled2012-04-06
- Unclear what the 'check password' unmask checkbox does, so users may not know its purpose2011-05-06
- Having to sign up for yet another site adds friction and wasted time2010-01-27
- Signup asks for too much info and rejects phone numbers with dashes2008-10-06
- Users can't find a Sign up or Register link and leave in frustration2008-07-04