Secure UX design makes secure choices the easy choices — default settings are secure, warnings are meaningful (not cry-wolf), and required actions align with user intuition.
"Security theater" wastes user attention on low-value security theater (CAPTCHAs on low-risk actions) while missing high-risk moments. Users click through warnings when they see too many. Reserve security friction for genuinely risky actions. Secure defaults eliminate opt-in security problems.