Defaults used to be invisible.
Products shipped with settings pre-configured. Users accepted them without thinking.
That's changing.
A new pattern is emerging: the explicit default.
Apps that ask you to choose, even when there's an obvious answer. Setup flows that make you acknowledge what's being enabled. Settings screens that don't hide behind "advanced."
It's slightly more friction. But it builds something valuable: informed consent.
Users who chose their settings understand their tools. Users who accepted defaults often don't.
The products that explain their choices are earning more trust than the ones that optimize for quick onboarding.
Transparency is becoming a feature.
Not because regulations demand it. But because users reward it.
That's the shift worth noticing.