It has been one of the most annoying things about the internet for years: the little security check box that asks you to type out a barely legible phrase to prove you're not a robot.
But the CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) could be on its way out after Google invented an invisible version that discreetly monitors browsing patterns to determine whether a website visitor is a human or bot.
CAPTCHAs have been a necessary evil for internet users for years. Many websites require visitors to pass a test confirming they're human to prevent cyber attacks in which bots overload a website with traffic. Others such as Ticketmaster have used it to prevent ticket tout software.
But the CAPTCHA's original form, was a bane of many internet users, forcing them to squint and hazard a guess at a distorted jumble of letters to prove their humanity.
The worst CAPTCHA I’ve ever seen.
— Rob Bettis (@robbettis) March 7, 2017
CTA: Search
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/CAtolMStjJ
Worst captcha ever pic.twitter.com/aucvJgP5Gr
— Anand Doshi (@anandpdoshi) February 13, 2017
The technology improved significantly after Google bought reCAPTCHA, one of the biggest providers, in 2009. In 2014 it introduced the No CAPTCHA, a little check box that knows you're not a robot based on how you tick the box. Robots, for example, are more likely to click right in the middle of the box.
Worst captcha ever pic.twitter.com/aucvJgP5Gr
— Anand Doshi (@anandpdoshi) February 13, 2017
Other tests more friendly for smartphones, such as picking out the animals in a grid of nine photos, have also been introduced.
The latest version, the "Invisible reCAPTCHA", removes the box-ticking entirely. It monitors how users have interacted with a website to date, such as how they clicked the "submit form" button, how they have moved the mouse around, as well as any past data Google holds on you.
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