# reCAPTCHA

- Link: https://ip.ipdev2.cloud/recaptcha/
- Published: 2022-04-18T15:06:32+00:00
- Author: neilharner

Update as of June 2025: As technology advances so must we. We now recommend using
[Cloudflare Turnstile](https://ip.ipdev2.cloud/2025/06/cloudflare-turnstile/) – 
if you’d like some more information on the differences of spam protection available,
you know where to find us!

## **What is reCAPTCHA**

reCAPTCHA is the perfect way to help protect websites from spam and abuse. It is
a free service that Google offers. A “CAPTCHA” is ultimately an easy and simple 
test that is able to tell the difference between humans and bots. This test can 
be rather difficult for bots to solve, but tends to be easy for humans. Implementing
reCAPTCHA on your site will help welcome your users with ease, while blocking unwanted
spam and automated software.

## **reCAPTCHA Use Cases**

 * Scraping
 * Fraudulent Transactions
 * Account Takeovers
 * Synthetic Accounts
 * False Posts
 * Money Laundering

## **reCAPTCHA Versions**

**reCAPTCHA v2 (“I am not a robot” Checkbox)**

The “I am not a robot” checkbox is a contributing factor when it comes to verifying
if an interaction is legitimate. The user can click on the checkbox to verify that
they are not a bot. After clicking the checkbox, the user will either pass immediately
or be given a challenge to furthermore validate that they are indeed a human and
not a bot.

**reCAPTCHA v2 (Invisible reCAPTCHA Badge)**

In reCAPTCHA v2, you are also given the option to implement an invisible reCAPTCHA
badge that does not require a checkbox or challenge. This invisible badge is something
that is run behind the scenes on the backend of your site.

**reCAPTCHA v2 (Android)**

reCAPTCHA v2 for Android is meant to be integrated into Android applications where
users can pass immediately or be challenged to further validate themselves as a 
human. Google Play’s service, [SafetyNet APIs](https://developer.android.com/training/safetynet/index.html),
houses the reCAPTCHA Android library. This can be directly integrated into an app
with the native Android APIs that are provided in the library.

**reCAPTCHA v3**

In reCAPTCHA v3, you are able to take action in the context of your site and verify
requests with a score without any user interaction. This is another version of reCAPTCHA
that is run behind the scenes on the backend of your site

## **How to Sign Up for reCAPTCHA**

Signing up for reCAPTCHA is easy! Just follow these steps:

 1. Get an API key pair for your site [here](https://www.google.com/recaptcha/about/)
through your Google account

 2. Select ‘Admin Console’

![reCAPTCHA instructions](https://ip.ipdev2.cloud/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/reCAPTCHA.
png?w=640)

 3. Name your reCAPTCHA in the ‘Label” section

 4. Select your reCAPTCHA type

 5. Enter your site’s URL under ‘Domains’

 6. Enter the emails of your owners/administrator

 7. Accept the reCAPTCHA Terms of Service

 8. Submit the form. Your reCAPTCHA API keys will then be generated

![recaptcha instructions](https://ip.ipdev2.cloud/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/recaptcha-
keyEX.png?w=640)

## **Conclusion**

For over a decade, reCAPTCHA has proven itself at the forefront of bot mitigation
by actively protecting data from over five million sites. It is the perfect solution
to implement on your site that will help welcome your users with ease, while blocking
any unwanted spam bots and automated software attacks.