If somebody would come in the night, and change the direction your fridge door open, then back. Then another day, put all your socks in a different drawers. Then back. You would start to think it's not a good thing.
There is really something weird with our virtual tools: we tolerate things that we would consider bonkers IRL. Like a newspaper shop asking for your phone number before you can read an article, or a library reporting the books you buy to the local candy shop.
A/B testing is one of those things: you have product you paid for, and the people who sold you the product change it without telling you, then revert abruptly the change, like it was a bad dream. But only sometimes, and not for your friends, who think you are crazy to believe it happened.
Anyway, there is an easy test to know if what you are doing is the right thing: ask the users if they want to opt-in. Most of them won't say yes, because, who would want that? Like tracking and advertising, only a tiny minority of users are actually ok with it if they have a choice. If you had a ublock origin for A/B testing, wouldn't you use it?
The only thing this test doesn't work with are duties and chores, like payment. But A/B testing is neither of those.
You know. there really is an argument to be made that UI-related A/B testing on the public really is unethical. Feels really close to experimentation without consent.
I think backend/performance-related testing, opt-in testing, and internal employee A/B rollouts are fine though.
If I'm trying walk my mom through something by providing verbal instructions over the phone, then I really don't want to be on the other side of an A/B test.
An A/B test in such an instance is a HUGE diservice. I imagine there are others, but that that is what I can immediately relate to.
In such a case, I would feel like whomever implemented the A/B test directly caused needless pain and suffering: both of our frustrations and whatever inadequacies/helplessness my mother might feel.
So yes, I'm in the same boat: either make it opt-in, or make it illegal.
