CCPA Fines Zepto, BookMyShow, IndiGo, Physics Wallah Over Dark Patterns

Nine digital platforms including Zepto, BookMyShow, IndiGo, Physics Wallah, FirstCry, PharmEasy, SpiceJet, McAfee and coaching platform Anuj Jindal have been penalised by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to the tune of close to ₹20 lakh for using “dark patterns” misleading or manipulating consumers in online transactions.

The action was announced by the government in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha as part of the Centre’s ongoing efforts to address deceptive interface designs that influence consumer decisions on digital platforms.

Zepto was the highest fined company with a penalty of ₹7 lakh. The government said the quick commerce platform initially showed lower prices, but then added handling fees and membership fees at checkout. The CCPA categorised the handling charges as drip pricing and the automatic addition of membership as basket sneaking. Zepto said in a statement that the practice identified has since been discontinued.

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Dark Patterns:

The regulator found Physics Wallah guilty of auto-selecting a donation of ₹10 to the company’s PW Foundation and slapped a penalty of ₹5 lakh on the company. The CCPA also challenged the emotional appeals for users to retain the donation and the precondition that users provide personal information before they could access free courses. The company has paid the fine and stopped the practices for which it was cited.

The court has ordered BookMyShow to withdraw the pre-ticked option of a ₹1 donation to the BookASmile charity campaign. The default setting was similar to basket sneaking, whereby consumers had to opt out of the donation, the regulator said.

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The CCPA also penalised IndiGo for confirm shaming. Earlier the airline’s app showed the message, “No I will take risk” when users declined to buy an add-on service. Following regulatory intervention, IndiGo replaced it with the neutral option, “No, I will not add to the trip.”

The other fines, from ₹1 lakh to ₹3 lakh, were slapped on FirstCry, PharmEasy, SpiceJet, McAfee and Anuj Jindal for hidden charges, misleading countdown clocks, manipulative subscription renewals and other deceptive interface designs.

India has come out with Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023 which identifies 13 prohibited dark patterns including false urgency, drip pricing, basket sneaking, subscription traps, confirm shaming and trick questions.

The government also said the Department of Consumer Affairs had issued an advisory in June 2025 asking e-commerce platforms to conduct self-audits and remove dark patterns from their digital interfaces.