The One-Click Action Paradox: Why Sometimes UX Should Make You Think Twice
Dec 29, 2025
Here's something that's going to sound crazy, or wrong, coming from a UX designer: sometimes your interface should be annoying on purpose.
I know, I know. Every design post screams about "seamless experiences" and "reducing friction" and "making things effortless." We worship Amazon's one-click checkout like it's the Holy Grail of UX.
But not everything should be one click away.
The $245 Million Fortnite Lesson
Let me tell you about one of the biggest "oops" moments in UX design history.
Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, got absolutely wrecked by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to the tune of $245 million in refunds. Why? Because their "frictionless" payment system was SO smooth that kids were racking up hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars in charges without their parents even knowing.
Here's what went down: The game automatically saved credit card info without telling parents. Kids could buy V-Bucks (the in-game currency) with literally just one button press. No confirmation. No "Are you sure?" was involved before the payments. No nothing. Just one click and Dad's credit card gets charged.
But wait, it gets worse. The button layout was so confusing that people were getting charged while trying to PREVIEW items, or while the game was loading, or even while trying to wake the game from sleep mode. One parent reported their 10-year-old spent almost $500 without any kind of alert or confirmation.
The FTC received over a million complaints. Epic's own employees were like "hey, maybe we should require CVV verification to prevent kids from using their parents' cards?" But nope, Epic kept the frictionless dream alive... until they had to pay out settlements to over 37 million people.
You know what would've prevented this entire disaster? A simple confirmation screen. That's it.
You can read more about this fiasco here.
The Frictionless Obsession Is Out of Control
The tech industry has convinced itself that ANY extra step is a failure. We're so terrified of slowing users down or even letting them decide, that we've created a world where you can nuke your entire digital life with the same effort it takes to like an Instagram post.
Think about it:
Deleting years of work? One click
Subscribing or Unsubscribing from a paid service? One click
Buying something you don't even know about? One click
Meanwhile, to SIGN UP for most services, you need to verify your email, create a password with 47 special characters, and confirm you're not a robot three times.
Make it make sense.
"Easy" Becomes Dangerous
Sometimes companies love frictionless experiences because it makes it SO easy to buy/subscribe/commit that you don't have time to think about whether you actually want to.
Ever noticed how subscribing to a service is one click, but canceling requires seven pages, and sometimes a chat with a support agent and telling them your life story?
But even with good intentions, the obsession with speed backfires. Because humans are clumsy, distracted, and make mistakes. A LOT of mistakes.
When You NEED to Pump the Brakes
Here's when frictionless = dangerous:
Irreversible Actions – Deleting files, closing accounts, removing team members. If there's no undo button, there better be an "are you REALLY sure?" moment.
Financial Transactions – Money moving = confirmation needed. Period. Regardless if it's $5 or $500, there must be a confirmation for this shit.
Privacy & Security Changes – Changing privacy settings, sharing sensitive data, granting account access – these should NEVER be quick and easy.
Social Actions with Consequences – Blocking someone, leaving a group, posting publicly. A tiny pause can prevent massive awkwardness.
Long-Term Commitments – Auto-renewals, subscriptions, contracts. If you're signing someone up for recurring payments, they should actively confirm it.
The "Confirmative Friction" Framework
Here's how to add friction without pissing off your users:
Level 1: The Soft Nudge (Low Stakes)
Use for: Minor actions that are mostly reversible but annoying to fix.
Examples: Discarding a draft, logging out, clearing a form
The Approach: Simple confirmation dialog. No drama, just "Hey, you sure?"
Example:
"You have unsaved changes. Leave anyway?"
[Stay] [Leave]
Level 2: The Clear Warning (Medium Stakes)
Use for: Actions with consequences that matter but aren't catastrophic.
Examples: Removing a team member, deleting a project, changing important settings
The Approach: Confirmation with context. Tell them what will happen. Use caution colors (orange/yellow).
Example:
"Remove Alex from the project?
They'll lose access to all files and won't be notified."
[Cancel] [Remove]
Level 3: The "Think Twice" Gate (High Stakes)
Use for: Irreversible actions with serious consequences.
Examples: Deleting an account, permanently removing data, canceling a paid service, purchasing an item/service
The Approach: Multi-step confirmation. Make them TYPE something to confirm (like their password or something). Use red for danger. Be crystal clear about what's permanent. Think of how Figma makes users type the workspace name which they want to delete.
Example:
"⚠️ This will permanently delete your account
This cannot be undone. All data, projects, and files will be deleted forever.
Type your username to confirm:"
[Text field]
[Cancel] [Permanently Delete Account]
Level 4: The "Cooling Off Period" (Nuclear Stakes)
Use for: Actions that could be impulsive and regretted.
Examples: Closing a business account, deleting years of data
The Approach: Delay the action. Give people 24-48 hours (or longer) to change their mind. Send confirmation emails. Let them cancel the cancellation.
Example:
"Your account will be deleted in 48 hours
We'll email you a confirmation. You can cancel this anytime before [DATE]."
[Cancel Deletion] [I Understand]
The Art of Good Friction
Here's the secret sauce: good friction doesn't feel like friction. It feels like the app giving a shit about you.
Bad friction:
Vague warnings that don't explain anything
Modal popups for every tiny action
Confusing buttons ("OK" vs "Cancel" when the question is negative)
Pre-checked boxes that trick you
Good friction:
Clear, human language
Specific explanations of consequences
Respect for the user's intelligence
Consistent patterns (dangerous actions always look dangerous)
Real-World Examples
Good Friction: GitHub's repository deletion. They make you type the exact repository name. Slightly annoying? Yes. Does it work? Absolutely. It forces you to slow down and be intentional.
Bad Friction: Any website that makes you call customer service to cancel a subscription (That's not safety – that's just being an asshole)
Your Action Plan
Audit your high-stakes actions. List everything in your product that could screw someone over if done by accident.
Map them to the framework. Decide which level of friction each action needs. Not everything needs Level 4.
Write human copy. Stop saying "Are you sure you want to proceed?" and start saying "This will delete all your files. Are you sure?"
Test with real users. See if your friction points actually prevent mistakes or just annoy people.
Provide escape hatches. Whenever possible, add an "undo" option. Friction is better than regret, but undo is better than both.
The Bottom Line
I'm not saying we should go back to "Please confirm you want to confirm your confirmation."
But we need to stop treating every extra click like it's a UX failure. Sometimes that extra click is the difference between "seamless experience" and "I just accidentally deleted my life's work."
The best UX isn't always the fastest UX. Sometimes the best UX is the one that saves you from yourself.
So next time you're designing a delete button or any action with consequences – ask yourself: "What happens if someone does this by mistake?"
And then design accordingly.
Because someone WILL do it by mistake. They always do.
That's the tea, folks. Catch you later 👋