Uncheck that little box

You know those little boxes at the end of an online order that they ask you to check to give permission to receive other offers and information? Or those "terms and conditions" boxes online that, by checking, you agree to have your credit-card charged monthly for a service?

Suspicious why sometimes those boxes are already checked? Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out, but the result may surprise you: "Research has shown that subscription rates increase by a 2-to-1 factor when the box is already checked," says Trevor Hughes, executive director of the York, Maine-based International Association of Privacy Professionals, which held a summit of 800 privacy experts in Washington, D.C. a week ago.

Presumably some people never get to the bottom of the Web page to uncheck the default box. And unchecking those boxes requires taking action — which is harder than doing nothing. "It can have a real effect as to how many people say yes," says Hughes, citing a study conducted by Eric Johnson at Columbia University's Business School.

Don Oldenburg, The Washington Post