"Dark Pattern": Ola Fined Rs 10 Lakh Over Pre-Ride 'Tip' Feature

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on ANI Technologies Private Limited, which operates ride-hailing platform Ola, for soliciting additional payments from customers before their journeys were completed.

The regulator said the pre-ride 'tip' or 'add-on' feature misled consumers, amounted to an unfair trade practice and employed a dark pattern.

The order, passed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, directed Ola to discontinue the practice immediately.

"Immediately discontinue all prompts, messages, pre-set amounts and interface designs that solicit any payment over and above the upfront fare before the journey is completed, whether described as a tip, add-on, additional fare or by any other name," the CCPA said.

The company has been asked to ensure strict compliance with the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Dark Patterns Guidelines, 2023, and the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022.

The regulator examined the feature, which prompted users to pay extra while the app was searching for a driver, suggesting this could help them get a ride faster.

Ola later renamed the 'tip' as an 'add-on', but the CCPA found the practice unchanged, an official statement said.

The CCPA reviewed different versions of the app and found messages such as "Adding a tip might help increase the chances of getting a ride faster" and "Improve your chances of quicker ride confirmation!" displayed above pre-set payment amounts.

The regulator said words such as 'might' and 'chance' did not alter the overall impression that paying more would speed up the booking.

Ola's own data for June 1-15, 2026, did not back this up. Ride requests with an add-on were accepted less often than those without one, the CCPA noted.

It also found Ola's stand contradictory: the company said the add-on did not influence ride allocation, even as the app suggested that paying extra could improve chances of getting a ride sooner.

Consumers were not told that the platform's data showed lower acceptance rates for requests with add-ons, or how the suggested amounts were arrived at.

The CCPA held this amounted to concealment of material information under Section 2(28)(iv) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

The authority observed that a tip is ordinarily a voluntary payment made after a service is rendered. Seeking it before the journey converts a voluntary gratuity into a pre-service payment, and renaming it did not change that, it said.

The CCPA further noted that the extra payment was sought after consumers had booked at an upfront fare that already accounts for peak pricing and the driver's distance from the pick-up point.

Asking for more on account of the same supply constraints amounted to charging an additional premium.

The suggested amounts were generated on an undisclosed basis and rose from Rs 10-Rs 40 in May 2025 to as much as Rs 140, while the interface allowed payments of up to Rs 499.

Consumers could not independently verify the need to pay more, as information on driver availability was controlled by the platform.

Making an extra payment appears necessary for a ride already booked also raised concerns of an unfair contract, the CCPA said.

The practice also contravened Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicles Aggregators Guidelines, 2025, which allows a tipping feature only after the journey is completed, the CCPA said.

It noted that Ola continued showing the prompt even after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways clarified on August 11, 2026, that such prompts could not be displayed before the ride ended.

Under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, an unfair trade practice includes unfair or deceptive methods and false or misleading representations about the benefits or usefulness of a service. The CCPA held that Ola's prompts fell within this definition.

Examining the feature under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, the CCPA said the prompts appeared while consumers were waiting for a driver to accept their booking. By suggesting that an extra payment would improve their chances, the interface implied that those who did not pay could face delays or not get a ride at all. This created a sense of fear and amounted to 'confirm shaming', as specified under Clause 3 of Annexure 1 to the guidelines, it held.

The authority also observed that pre-set amounts displayed below the prompt anchored consumers to higher figures.

The message "Generous Add On!" further nudged users to pay. The interface did not offer an option to close the prompt. Further, the prompt appeared after booking, when consumers had limited information on driver availability or the likely effect of paying extra.

Ola's booking data showed such requests originating from hospitals, railway stations, inter-state bus terminals and airports.

The CCPA said patients, elderly persons, travellers with luggage, and people travelling alone or at night could be particularly vulnerable to such prompts.

The CCPA has also taken suo motu action against other cab aggregators over the same practice. It has earlier passed an order against Rapido (Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd), imposing a penalty of Rs 10 lakh.

Proceedings against Uber and Namma Yatri are under investigation.

Consumers facing such practices can lodge complaints with the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 or write to com-ccpa@gov.in.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)