Google has introduced a new reCaptcha verification method that requires users to have an approved phone number to pass the challenge, raising privacy concerns. The system uses QR codes that users must scan with their phones, which must be verified through Google's ecosystem. This change could potentially exclude users without smartphones or those unwilling to share their phone numbers with Google.
Background
reCaptcha is Google's widely used security service that distinguishes human users from bots by presenting challenges that are easy for humans but difficult for computers to solve. The service has evolved through multiple versions to combat increasingly sophisticated automated attacks.
- Source
- Lobsters
- Published
- Jun 10, 2026 at 05:34 PM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10