Warning friction is a small pause or extra step-such as a warning prompt, confirmation screen, or temporary block-inserted before a potentially risky action. It is designed to interrupt urgency and give someone time to reconsider rather than relying only on users to recognize every scam.
In cyber security, this can help disrupt social engineering that pushes people to click a link, share credentials, or send money quickly. Messaging apps and operating systems may use warnings or other prompts when an interaction appears suspicious. Effective friction should appear at the right moment, explain the risk clearly, and avoid so many false alarms that users ignore it. It reduces risk but does not guarantee that a scam will be stopped.