Privacy advocates slam reCAPTCHA update they say locks out de-Googled phones

Privacy-conscious internet users are being “demoted” from second to third-class netizens, said Bitcoiner Jameson Lopp.

Privacy proponents have criticized Google’s latest updates to its reCAPTCHA system, arguing it has effectively “locked out” millions of websites from Android users running privacy–focused operating systems. 

Google-owned reCAPTCHA is used to verify whether a user is a person, usually by asking them to click on images of a bus or a fire hydrant. 

Google announced “Cloud Fraud Defense” in late April, branding it “the next evolution of reCAPTCHA.”The latest update now presents users with a QR code to verify their humanity, but requires Google Play Services or the Apple equivalent to be running on the device, which isn’t present on “de-Googled” Android phones, such as those running GrapheneOS or CalyxOS.

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