Do we need reading progress bars?

Max Schmitt thinks the thin progress bar at the top of articles is pointless, because the browser already has a scrollbar. His proof is one screenshot and where his own eye goes. That's one person, but I mostly agree.

The only data I found is a small 2015 eye-tracking study, a company blog write-up, not peer-reviewed. People mostly ignored the bar while reading, but checked it when asked how much was left. No clear difference in reading time. So it doesn't seem to hurt, it's just a second copy of the scrollbar. Whether it distracts was never tested.

"Bad UX" is too strong though. Mac trackpads show only a faint scrollbar by default, so for some people the bar may be clearer.

Why does it exist? Probably because it's cheap to build. Whatever is cheap gets built, and nobody asks who wanted it.

Ship it for very long reads. Otherwise skip it.