diff --git a/newsfragments/3975.minor b/newsfragments/3975.minor
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..08fba6dd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/newsfragments/3975.minor
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fixes truthy conditional in status.py
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/allmydata/web/status.py b/src/allmydata/web/status.py
index 65647f491..a413348c4 100644
--- a/src/allmydata/web/status.py
+++ b/src/allmydata/web/status.py
@@ -550,7 +550,7 @@ class DownloadStatusElement(Element):
             length = r_ev["length"]
             bytes_returned = r_ev["bytes_returned"]
             decrypt_time = ""
-            if bytes:
+            if bytes_returned is not None:
                 decrypt_time = self._rate_and_time(bytes_returned, r_ev["decrypt_time"])
             speed, rtt = "",""
             if r_ev["finish_time"] is not None: