FAKESTAGRAM HQ
A gamified experience to highlight dark design patterns & malpractices of social media platforms
What is Fakestagram HQ?
Fakestagram HQ is a mobile game designed to teach players about dark patterns and their impact on data privacy, security, and time usage of social media platforms in an interactive manner.
Fakestagram HQ charts a heroic journey through various levels of a quest to destabilize the headquarters of Fakestagram. In each level, the player has to navigate their way around dark patterns commonly used on social media platforms with the help of a bad robot turned good, Instabot.
At the end of each level, Instabot teaches the player about what dark pattern they defeated and how they can identify and avoid such design tricks in real life. The game also has strong social components such as shareable end screens and a leaderboard.
Why play this game?
Through its compelling narrative and use of principles of embedded design, we believe Fakestagram HQ can initiate prosocial behavior change in people’s relationships with the social media platforms they frequent in an engaging manner.
The game draws on concepts from inoculation theory and cognitive dissonance theory to make people better at spotting and avoiding dark patterns and makes them less likely to incorporate them in the products they make. We hope as more people play our game, it will make social media platforms a better place.
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Sayan Chaudhry, Carnegie Mellon University, [email protected]
Ipsita Mallick, Carnegie Mellon University, [email protected]
Onyekachi Nwabueze, Carnegie Mellon University, [email protected]
Selected Works
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© ipsita a mallik 2025