"Sign up in 1 minute, leave in 10."

As personal information from 33.7 million Coupang customer accounts was leaked, "membership withdrawal" certifications are spreading on social media (SNS) and online communities. But some say Coupang is drawing public ire because, unlike the signup process, the withdrawal process is complicated.

When attempting to cancel a Coupang membership, a message says "You can proceed with membership information deletion by switching to the PC version," and a "Go to PC version" menu appears. /Courtesy of Coupang app screen capture

According to the industry on the 2nd, the personal information leak at Coupang has prompted a move among members to withdraw. Users affected by the leak are canceling their Coupang accounts outright or responding by canceling the "Wow Membership," changing saved payment card information, and changing easy payment PINs.

In practice, to withdraw you must switch to the PC version even if you use the company's app. When this reporter tried to withdraw, the "member withdrawal" menu could not be found in the personal page or settings page of the Coupang app. Entering the customer center and finding the question "How do I withdraw my membership? [Sign up/Withdrawal]" in the FAQ list allowed confirmation of the withdrawal method.

Withdrawing via the Coupang app took six major steps — ▲ My Coupang ▲ edit member information ▲ switch to PC version ▲ identity verification ▲ check usage history ▲ survey — and about 10 minutes. Between each step are additional procedures such as checking various notices discouraging withdrawal, canceling Wow Membership, and moving between the app and PC version. By contrast, signing up is completed immediately by agreeing to the terms of service and entering only a name, email, and mobile phone number, taking less than one minute.

Online communities are seeing continued complaints that the withdrawal process is complicated. Reactions include, "I gave up because withdrawal was complicated," and "I withdrew my parents' accounts for them." Park, a Wow Membership member who had maintained membership for five years and is 55, said, "After I received a notice that my personal information had been leaked, I tried to withdraw my membership but it took a long time just to find out how," adding, "Even then, it was complicated, such as having to switch to the PC version, so I just gave up."

When attempting to cancel a Coupang membership, a notice appears asking to cancel Wow Membership (left). If you keep trying to cancel, an additional notice appears saying it is required (right). /Courtesy of Coupang app screen capture

This environment that makes withdrawing membership difficult is drawing controversy as a "dark pattern." A dark pattern is a method of guiding user behavior in a particular direction during UI/UX design. Making membership withdrawal or subscription cancellation difficult, hiding key information, and requesting excessive personal information fall under this. The Korea Media and Communications Commission has said it will conduct a full monitoring of dark patterns in major app services from this month through April next year.

Coupang, for its part, has issued no separate notice other than guidance asking for particular caution regarding phone calls and text messages impersonating Coupang.

※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedback here.