On Faulty Defaults

AKA Creating the Opt-INternet

Demonstrate the ridiculous goose chase of distraction in order to utilize “simple” two-factor authentication.

Web browser: Google login > Google app via iPhone (accept prompt, then app shows local news - never opted in) > Web browser logs in, then provides two unrelated prompts to “make the most of Google” and a small “Not now” hyperlink to skip and return to initially intended action

Prompting user actions assumes all sorts of things about the user’s constraints, intentions and available attention. What should be a tunnel of seamless (mostly automated) actions that quickly take the user to their requested outcome creates nearly a dozen micro-options that introduce unnecessary deliberation and distraction from what should essentially be the digital equivalent of putting a key in a lock opening a filing cabinet drawer.

Another example of something a user never asked for - every time you boot up Discord it shows a bunch of supposedly cute, playful prompts about background tasks as it boots up and then makes you close multiple pop-ups bragging about the latest bug fixes and feature additions - OH, AND the dumb BS you can access if you pay for Premium/Turbo service.