Nonfree (proprietary) software is very often malware (designed to mistreat the user). Nonfree software is controlled by its developers, which puts them in a position of power over the users; that is the basic injustice . The developers and manufacturers often exercise that power to the detriment of the users they ought to serve.

This page deals with malicious functionalities that are added to some programs for the sole purpose of luring users into more and more frequent and intensive use of the program, with the risk of getting addicted.

If you know of an example that ought to be in this page but isn't here, please write to <webmasters@gnu.org> to inform us. Please include the URL of a trustworthy reference or two to serve as specific substantiation.

How software is made addictive

Games

Many games are designed to keep gamers compulsively playing—and renewing their subscription. To achieve this result, developers use techniques that derive from behavioral and brain research:

The Skinner Box An environment in which the user is trained to “push the lever“, i.e. do a certain action over and over again in order to get a reward. This is also known as “grinding.” Virtual food pellets Items that have nothing to do with the game itself, but are valuable to gamers because of the work required to obtain them (e.g., EverQuest); some people will end up collecting them for the sake of collecting. Random rewards They turn the game into the equivalent of a slot machine (e.g., World of Warcraft, ZT Online). Elaborate cycles Gamers' behavior can be “shaped” by making cycles (progress from one level to the next) slower and slower, designing complex tasks that are difficult to get out of (e.g. World of Warcraft), or conversely dividing them up in small chunks to avoid frustration (e.g., New Super Mario Bros.Wii). Decay of game assets This makes it necessary for a gamer to keep playing, without vacations, simply to avoid losing what they have earned so far (e.g., Farmville, Ultima Online, Animal Crossing).

Games such as World of Warcraft, which are considered very addictive, use several of these techniques.

There are even more elaborate ways to get users addicted to a game.

“Loot boxes” are a direct application of the random reward mechanism, and their addictiveness is enhanced by seductive animation. They are akin to gambling.

The developers of gratis mobile games apply the techniques described above to turn their products into slot machines. This is clearly described in an infographic. The revenue generated by these games is directly related to the number of strongly addicted gamers (called “whales”) and to the amount of money they are willing to spend. Thus developers carefully study the behavior of millions of users to increase the addictiveness of their games.

(Unfortunately, the last two articles use “free” to mean “zero price.” We recommend saying “gratis” instead.)

However, the addictiveness of a game is only one of the determinants of addiction. Equally important are the psychological make-up and life circumstances of the gamer. Gaming addiction, like other addictions, is a form of mental escape from an unrewarding life. The sad truth is that, in the long run, it leads to an even worse life.

Note: We are not gamers. If you think we have misunderstood some point, or have suggestions for making this text clearer or more correct, please send them to <webmasters@gnu.org>.

Online gambling

Online gambling services (and their nonfree client programs) are designed to be addictive, much like on-line games. They achieve this with various different malfunctionalities, often in combination.

Many of these malfunctionalities are implemented by the server and the client program together. In some cases, there is no honest way that the client program could counteract the nastiness—for instance, when the server manipulates amounts won in order to get the user addicted, the only way the client program could block that is to pretend the win did not happen. But users would not want that modification.

However, modification of the client program could cover up some addictive behaviors without losing the user anything.

Social networks

Some social networking apps are designed to get users addicted. These try to merge into your daily routine by exploiting social pressure and your natural desire for socialization, converting habitual gestures into thorough addiction. As already noted for games, addictiveness is essentially based on random rewards. In the present case, the rewards are messages from friends and followers, “likes,” news, interesting videos, etc. The software is designed to trigger users' desire for these rewards, and keep this desire alive as long as possible.

By default, notifications are sent every time a new item comes in, instead of, say, once a day. They are associated with sounds or vibrations which make them even more compelling. (Remember Pavlov's experiments with rats.) These triggers are often opt-out, and many users don't try to turn them off. They are most effective when the app is installed on a mobile device which is always on and never leaves the user. As a side effect, they may contribute to the addictiveness of “smart” phones.

Users are served selected material that is likely to interest them, based on profiling. (This paves the way to manipulation, by the way.)

The app interface is designed to make users stay on the site as long as possible, using infinite scrolling for example.

The company that owns the social network tries to cover users' needs as extensively as possible, by acquiring other companies if needed. Once users have concentrated most of their online activities and a lot of their personal data on a single platform (or a set of platforms that belong to the same group), they find it almost impossible to leave. And even if they wanted to, they would have a hard time digging out the relevant options, and the app would aggressively nag them to stay.

A good way to minimize the risk of addiction, short of avoiding social media altogether, is to turn off notifications and leave as little as possible of your own data on the platform.

Examples of addictive software