If this is indeed a deliberate dark pattern then it is ingenious. The problem is that very so often mistakes are more common than deliberate “malice”.

Hanlon’s razor is often the case at smaller companies.

Deliberate “mistakes” are more common at very very large FAANG type companies where a groups P&L rests on deliberate dark patterns or strategy taxes or being anticompetitive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor