BitLife - Life Simulator

0.23
Neutral
Price: Free
Ads: Yes
In App Purchases: Yes

iOS App Store
Google Play App Store

Temporal Dark PatternsTemporal Dark Patterns

This game has 34 reported Temporal Dark Patterns. There are 42 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.89

10 votes
2 votes
Daily Rewards -
10 / 2 votes
Encourages return visits every day and punishes you for missing a day.

8 votes
3 votes
Advertisements -
8 / 3 votes
Forced to watch ads or given rewards for watching ads.

6 votes
5 votes
Grinding -
6 / 5 votes
Being required to perform repetitive and tedious tasks to advance.

6 votes
5 votes
Infinite Treadmill -
6 / 5 votes
Impossible to win or complete the game.

2 votes
9 votes
Playing by Appointment -
2 / 9 votes
Being forced to play according to the game's schedule instead of yours.

1 votes
9 votes
Can't Pause or Save -
1 / 9 votes
The game does not allow you to stop playing whenever you want.

1 votes
9 votes
Wait To Play -
1 / 9 votes
In-game timers that make you arbitrarily wait for something.

Monetary Dark PatternsMonetary Dark Patterns

This game has 29 reported Monetary Dark Patterns. There are 83 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

0.97

5 votes
5 votes
Pay to Win -
5 / 5 votes
A player can spend real money to purchase something that gives them an advantage in the game.

5 votes
7 votes
Artificial Scarcity -
5 / 7 votes
Limited time offers with unnecessary urgency.

4 votes
7 votes
Pay to Skip -
4 / 7 votes
Spend money to avoid waiting for a timer to expire.

3 votes
8 votes
Accidental Purchases -
3 / 8 votes
Making it easy to accidentally spend money with no confirmation or ability to undo or refund the action.

3 votes
7 votes
Recurring Fee -
3 / 7 votes
Encourages players to play as much as possible to get their money's worth.

3 votes
6 votes
Pay Wall -
3 / 6 votes
The game becomes impossible to continue playing without payment.

2 votes
9 votes
Premium Currency -
2 / 9 votes
Exchange rate between real money and in-game currency disguises the real price of items.

2 votes
8 votes
Power Creep -
2 / 8 votes
A permanently purchased item in the game becomes less valuable over time.

1 votes
8 votes
Gambling / Loot Boxes -
1 / 8 votes
Spending real money to play a game of chance for a reward.

1 votes
8 votes
Anchoring Tricks -
1 / 8 votes
Placing a cheap item next to an expensive item to make it look more affordable.

10 votes
Waste Aversion -
0 / 10 votes
Capped inventory forces you to destroy items or upgrade inventory. Also, having small amounts of left over premium currency.

Social Dark PatternsSocial Dark Patterns

This game has 1 reported Social Dark Patterns. There are 69 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

4.78

1 votes
9 votes
Social Pyramid Scheme -
1 / 9 votes
You get a bonus for inviting your friends and then they have to invite their friends.

10 votes
Social Obligation / Guilds -
0 / 10 votes
To avoid letting down your friends, you are obligated to play when you don't want to.

10 votes
Friend Spam / Impersonation -
0 / 10 votes
The game sends spam to your contact list or social media account.

10 votes
Reciprocity -
0 / 10 votes
Feeling obligated to return a favor, share resources, trade an item, etc.

10 votes
Encourages Anti-Social Behavior -
0 / 10 votes
The game incentivizes players to lie, cheat, or backstab other players to get ahead.

10 votes
Fear of Missing Out -
0 / 10 votes
If you stop playing you'll miss out on something or be left behind and unable to catch up.

10 votes
Competition -
0 / 10 votes
The game makes you compete against other players.

Psychological Dark PatternsPsychological Dark Patterns

This game has 24 reported Psychological Dark Patterns. There are 48 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.09

10 votes
2 votes
Badges / Endowed Progress -
10 / 2 votes
Reluctancy to abandon a partially completed goal, even one forced upon the player.

5 votes
6 votes
Variable Rewards -
5 / 6 votes
Unpredictable or random rewards are more addictive than a predictable schedule.

3 votes
8 votes
Invested / Endowed Value -
3 / 8 votes
Having already spent time and money to improve your status in the game, it's difficult to throw it away.

3 votes
7 votes
Complete the Collection -
3 / 7 votes
The urge to collect all the items, achievements or secrets in a game.

3 votes
7 votes
Aesthetic Manipulations -
3 / 7 votes
Trick questions or toying with emotions or our subconscious desires.

9 votes
Illusion of Control -
0 / 9 votes
The game cheats or hides information to make you think you're better than you actually are.

9 votes
Optimism and Frequency Biases -
0 / 9 votes
Overestimating the frequency of something because we’ve seen it recently or memorably.

App Store Ratings

iOS:  (5.00) with 574,437 votes.
Google Play:  (4.55) with 203,887 votes.



Recent Dark Pattern Reviews

Pay to Skip reported on Feb 20, 2024
pay to get rid of ads
Advertisements reported on Aug 17, 2023
Even offline, the game still has in-game advertisements.
Social Pyramid Scheme reported on Aug 17, 2023
If you want to post on social media, share this app to someone!
Daily Rewards reported on Dec 5, 2022
Daily reward of "heirlooms," which can be very rare and can be passed down through generations. Usually, though, they are not very valuable.
Pay Wall reported on Dec 5, 2022
Can't continue generations without paying
Power Creep reported on Oct 21, 2022
Heirlooms degrade
Daily Rewards reported on May 25, 2022
There are daily heirlooms
Pay to Win reported on May 25, 2022
You can time travel but it costs something very time
Badges / Endowed Progress reported on May 25, 2022
there are achievements
Playing by Appointment reported on May 24, 2022
“Challenges” where you have to play between a few days for in-game rewards. Also sometimes gives you notifications that you lose rewards if you don’t respond to them.


Report a Dark Pattern

Screenshot How will you live your BitLife?

Will you try to make all the right choices in an attempt to become a model citizen sometime before you die? You could marry the love of your life, have kids, and pick up a good education along the way.

Or will you play choices that horrify your parents? You could descend into a life of crime, fall in love or go on adventures, start prison riots, smuggle duffle bags, and cheat on your spouse. You choose your story...

Discover how bit by bit life choices can add up to determine your success in life the game.

Interactive story games have been around for years. But this is the first text life simulator to truly mash up and simulate adult life.