Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Website permission prompts
Raised as a usability problem by 15 people on Hacker News over 8 years (2016–2023), in 15 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
Permission popups appear on load instead of after user actionUnreviewed
20162026- Dismissing the in-page prompt's tiny close button still triggers the browser permission popup2023-03-28
- Permission popups appear on dozens of pages and require a second click2022-06-06
- Repeated fake permission popups force users to click Accept or get stuck, with no clear way out2021-05-02
Prompt keeps reappearing until notifications are allowedUnreviewed
20162026- Full-page notification prompts appear immediately and block viewing the content2022-05-28
- Site blocks access until notifications are allowed, and the prompt keeps reappearing2020-03-25
- Notification popups keep appearing and are increasingly pervasive on websites2018-09-20
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 15 complaints
- Users get spammed by sites' prompts to add them to the home screen or dock2023-06-08
- Dismissing the in-page prompt's tiny close button still triggers the browser permission popup2023-03-28
- Permission popups appear on dozens of pages and require a second click2022-06-06
- Full-page notification prompts appear immediately and block viewing the content2022-05-28
- Repeated fake permission popups force users to click Accept or get stuck, with no clear way out2021-05-02
- Constant popups about random strangers' enrollments are annoying and distracting while reading2020-04-02
- Site blocks access until notifications are allowed, and the prompt keeps reappearing2020-03-25
- Permission prompt interrupts users and makes direct actions like typing a zip code slower2019-04-04
- Permission popup appears immediately on page load instead of after user action2019-02-03
- Notification popups keep appearing and are increasingly pervasive on websites2018-09-20
- Users reflexively deny permission dialogs and can't easily reverse that choice later2018-05-07
- Touching the page on a tablet opens a popup pushing an app download, with no clear way around it2017-03-03
- Must dismiss a notification popup on every new page opened from search2017-01-25
- Fake browser-style permission prompt on websites is a dark pattern that tricks users2017-01-15
- Notification permission popup interrupts first-time visitors before they've engaged with the site2016-07-14