It’s hard to avoid subscriptions. They’re everywhere, from gym memberships to pet food subscription boxes to the ever-proliferating market of streaming services, and they might even seem like a good deal, giving you access to products without having to buy every single product separately. But while subscriptions can save consumers from the hassle of having to renew wanted services every month, they can pile up, and go months or years without being used or even remembered.

Subscriptions are great for companies, who get a consistent stream of revenue, but not necessarily for customers. That’s why so many of them rely on dark patterns and intentionally misleading language to lock customers into plans that are difficult and time-consuming to cancel. The FTC is taking action to crack down on dark patterns and return control to the consumer, but there is still a long way to go.

For our June special issue on pricing, Joanna Marsh wrote about how subscriptions as a business model have captured so much of the market and how they use underhanded tactics to trick consumers into paying month after month. You can read the full story here.

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