reCAPTCHA Help

One of my biggest handicap is convincing captcha that I'm not a robot. 

I wish I was. Or could have one like Rosie from the Jetsons. 

Not a Roomba tho. That trips up my WiFi. 

I bet Roomba has a contract with DARPA or the NSA. 

https://support.google.com/recaptcha/#aria_status_message

About reCAPTCHA

1. What is reCAPTCHA?
2. How can I distinguish between different versions of reCAPTCHA?
3. Helping everyone, everywhere, one CAPTCHA at a time

Using reCAPTCHA V2

1. How do I use reCAPTCHA?
2. Accessibility
3. This CAPTCHA is too hard
4. My computer is sending automated queries

Help for reCAPTCHA users

1. Browser requirements for reCAPTCHA
2. reCAPTCHA isn't displaying properly on Internet Explorer, what do I do?
3. Not seeing the checkbox and want an easier challenge?

Help for website owners

1. How can I integrate reCAPTCHA in my site?
2. FAQs

About reCAPTCHA

1. What is reCAPTCHA?

   reCAPTCHA is a free service from Google that helps protect websites from spam and abuse. A "CAPTCHA" is a turing test to tell human and bots apart. It is easy for humans to solve, but hard for "bots" and other malicious software to figure out. By adding reCAPTCHA to a site, you can block automated software while helping your welcome users to enter with ease. Try it out at https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/demo.

   To learn more about reCAPTCHA, visit our official website or our technical documentation site.

2. How can I distinguish between different versions of reCAPTCHA?

   There currently exist two versions of reCAPTCHA, V1 and V2.

   V1

   reCAPTCHA V1 can take many forms, but here are the most common ones:

   

   V2

   The newer V2 reCAPTCHA looks like this:

   

3. Helping everyone, everywhere, one CAPTCHA at a time

   CAPTCHAs play an important role in keeping the internet spam-free and making everyone's experience a little bit better.

   reCAPTCHA also makes positive use of the human effort spent in solving CAPTCHAs by using the solutions to digitize text, annotate images, and build machine-learning datasets. This in turn helps preserve books, improve maps, and solve hard AI problems.

Using reCAPTCHA V2

1. How do I use reCAPTCHA?

   Just click the checkbox:

   

   If you see a green checkmark, congratulations! You've passed our robot test (yes, it's that easy). You can carry on with what you were doing.

   Sometimes we need some extra info from you to make sure you're human and not a robot, so we ask you to solve a challenge:

   

   Simply follow the on-screen instructions to solve the puzzle and then carry on with your task.

2. Accessibility

   ReCAPTCHA works with major screen readers such as ChromeVox, JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver. ReCAPTCHA will alert screen readers of status changes, such as when the reCAPTCHA verification challenge is complete. The status can also be found by looking for the heading titled "recaptcha status" in the "recaptcha widget" section of the page. See ReCAPTCHA ARIA Status Messages for more information.

   Please use the following steps to solve an audio challenge:

   1. If you are presented with a visual challenge, locate and click on the button.

   2. You will be presented with one of two versions of the audio challenge depending on whether you're using a mobile device.
      

   3. Press PLAY and enter the numbers you hear in the text input box located after the PLAY button or audio control. If your focus isn't automatically set on the text input box after pressing the PLAY button, tab to proceed to it. When you're done entering the numbers from the audio, press ENTER or click on the "Verify" button to submit your answer.

   4. If your answer is incorrect, you will be presented with another audio challenge.

      

   5. If your answer is correct, the audio challenge will close and the reCAPTCHA checkbox will become checked. ReCAPTCHA will also notify the screen reader of the successful verification.

      

      Please note that the verification will expire after some time and you will need to start over if this occurs. You will be notified if the verification expires.​ 

      

   ​Tips

   • If the audio doesn't play, try downloading the audio by locating and clicking on the link.

   • While in the text input box, you can press the "R" button to replay the audio from the beginning

   • To get a different audio challenge, locate and press the button.

   • The reCAPTCHA verification expires after a certain amount of time so it is best to complete the reCAPTCHA verification last on a website you are accessing.

   • Some screen readers may have difficulties getting into forms mode, if this happens, please use your screen reader's functionality to force forms mode.

   ReCAPTCHA ARIA Status Messages

   Status message	Detailed description
   Recaptcha requires verification	The initial state, reCAPTCHA verification is required to proceed on this website. Click the checkbox to get a verification challenge.
   Opening verification challenge	The checkbox has been clicked and a challenge is loading. You are instantly verified if the status changes to "You are verified". Otherwise, you are required to complete a verification challenge.
   Verification challenge expired, check the checkbox again for a new challenge	The verification challenge expired due to timeout or inactivity. Click the checkbox again for a new challenge.
   You are verified	You have been verified. You can now proceed on the website.
   Verification expired, check the checkbox again for a new challenge	The verification expired due to timeout or inactivity. Click the checkbox again for a new challenge.

3. This CAPTCHA is too hard

   Don't worry. Some CAPTCHAs are hard. Just click the reload button next to the image to get another one.

4. My computer is sending automated queries

   Our unusual traffic help page describes what to do if you see this message:

   "We're sorry, but your computer or network may be sending automated queries. To protect our users, we can't process your request right now."

Help for reCAPTCHA users

1. Browser requirements for reCAPTCHA

   We support the two most recent major versions of the following:

   • desktop (Windows, Linux, Mac)
     • Chrome
     • Firefox
     • Safari
     • IE / Edge
   • mobile
     • Chrome
     • Safari
     • Android native browser

2. reCAPTCHA isn't displaying properly on Internet Explorer, what do I do?

   reCAPTCHA cannot display correctly if the IE Compatibility View is enabled for google.com. We suggest that you remove google.com from your list of sites that have Compatibility View enabled.

   Turn off Compatibility view

   • IE 10
     1. In Internet Explorer, press the Alt key to display the Menu bar, or press and hold the address bar and select Menu bar.
     2. Click Tools and select Compatibility View settings.
     3. Select google.com under "Websites you've added to Compatibility View."
     4. Click Remove.
   • IE 9
     1. In Internet Explorer, press the Alt key to display the Menu bar, or press and hold the address bar and select Menu bar.
     2. Click Tools and select Compatibility View settings.
     3. Select google.com under "Websites you've added to Compatibility View."
     4. Click Remove.
   • IE 8
     1. In Internet Explorer, open the Tools menu at the top and select Compatibility View Settings.
     2. Select google.com under "Websites you've added to Compatibility View."
     3. Click Remove.

   If you don't see google.com listed, or if you still see a warning about Compatibility View after following the steps above, make sure that your computer has the latest Windows updates. See Microsoft's instructions for getting Window's updates.

3. Not seeing the checkbox and want an easier challenge?

   If you're seeing this reCAPTCHA challenge, your browser environment doesn't support the reCAPTCHA checkbox widget.

   

   There are a few steps you can take to improve your experience:

   • Make sure your browser is fully updated (see minimum browser requirements)
   • Check that JavaScript is enabled in your browser
   • Try disabling plugins that might conflict with reCAPTCHA

   Please note that some sites may have incorrectly integrated with reCAPTCHA - in this case please contact the site's webmaster.

Help for website owners

1. How can I integrate reCAPTCHA in my site?

   Using reCAPTCHA in your site is very easy. First, register your site here and then follow the short on-screen instructions.

2. FAQs

   If you are having any technical problems in your site, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions. If you don't see your problem listed there, try our support forum.

Elyssa D. Durant 

Research & Policy Analyst

Columbia University, New York