Anecdotally I've noticed that nearly all progress bars on major apps/sites are fake these days. Instagram and Facebook also have "progress indicators" (usually

Anecdotally I've noticed that nearly all progress bars on major apps/sites are fake these days. Instagram and Facebook also have "progress indicators" (usually used for uploads) that just show asymptotic progress regardless of whether anything is happening. I know it's a minor issue because rendering an accurate progress bar is a hard problem, but in my view this is just another example of how behavioralism leads to a generalized erosion of trust in the interfaces and technologies people use. It may be true that, in an A/B test, users who see the fake progress bar are happier or more patient. But at some point, people are going to realize they're being lied to, and they're going to wonder what else you're lying to them about. This is why I think the stories of "[$App] listens to your conversations" / "[$App] charges you extra when your phone battery is low" etc. remain so persistent, even when there's sometimes little or no evidence to back them up. If designers have decided that a little psychological manipulation is okay, why wouldn't they be manipulating us elsewhere too?