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Google's next-gen reCAPTCHA system could spell trouble for de-Googled phones
(www.androidauthority.com)
this post was submitted on 07 May 2026
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What is that supposed to mean? What QR code? Just any? I'm supposed to find some QR code laying around and scan it? Or will the webpage display a QR and I'm supposed to scan it with my phone using a mirror or something?
The example image I saw was of a page opened on a laptop, which prompted you to scan with a phone. If you don't have a (compatible) phone, I'm curious how that would go.
Oh, I thought they are talking about browsing on their phones.
That still makes very little sense. What if someone has an iPhone? What if I am browsing on my phone? What if I don't have my phone near me? This sounds like some optional, extreme case feature. Like when they are pretty much sure you're a bot but the website optionally gives you last one chance to prove you're not instead of just rejecting your request.
Per https://support.google.com/recaptcha/answer/16609652
I'm not seeing anything related to that specifically, but I imagine a (supported) mobile browser will be able to interface with Play Services directly and not need a QR code challenge.
If you use an unsupported browser, I think we can both guess what's gonna happen. As for what browsers are supported:
https://support.google.com/recaptcha/answer/6223828?hl=en&ref_topic=6188330&sjid=5375685544242031989-EU
Guess if you're using Firefox mobile, you're fucked - plz switch to Chrome, thank you and welcome to our digital ~~prison~~ saferoom!
You mean you don't carry our surveillance device with you 23/7 (we'll give you an hour for sleep)?
I'm somehow reminded of that mobile Diablo announcement and the surprised response "Don't you guys have phones?"
The stated goal is to fight fraudulent agentic AI: "As we identify potentially fraudulent behavior from agents, we enable application providers to deter and mitigate malicious requests by requesting humans to be in the loop using the new QR code-based challenge."
https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/identity-security/introducing-google-cloud-fraud-defense-the-next-evolution-of-recaptcha/
So they'd do this when they suspect the thing interacting with the page is not a human, but expects a human to be involved with the process. How exactly that "potentially fraudulent behavior" would be detected is a different question and I have absolutely zero faith that it will fulfill its mission dutifully and without collateral damage. But then, if you're compliant with their requirements, that collateral damage is negligible. They made sure that the ~~prison~~ saferoom is really comfy.
Zugzwang strategy. You have to make move, there's not even an option not to play.
It's not just about capturing the mobile phone market and punishing alternate ROM developers, it's also pushing people into the market that might otherwise choose to have a dumb phone, no phone, do things in person, via mail, etc. No android/iPhone? Good luck with online shopping, communicating with medical providers, checking your kid's grades online, paying utility bills, taxes, etc. etc.
As the boomers die off, and fewer people do things the per-internet way, there's no incentive for governments, businesses, and so forth to maintain those processes and systems. Why would we have a receptionist take appointments by hand if she's just typing them into the same web interface? Why print report cards when we can post them online? Why maintain a storefront and not just warehouses like Amazon?
Opt-in to surveillance or opt out of necessary parts of life, all under the guise of "convenience".
Thanks for checking. That clarifies things a lot.
I guess we're fucked. reCaptcha is not used for visiting websites but for registering or submitting form. I can think of couple of cases where I'm required to complete captcha for online shopping or, ever worse, for work. Step by step they will force us all to either use approved devices or be locked out of big parts of the internet.
This is of course thanks to all the people shitting on Firefox over the years and saying that Chrome is just better and that there's nothing wrong with giving Google control over the web. So yeah, thanks.
No it's not thanks to those people. Blaming individuals for not stopping what a much bigger, infinitely more resourced, organized actor has been/is doing to maximize profit is shifting the material responsibiltiy from the actor with real power to the actors without. It's like the personal carbon footprint oil&gas came up with to shift responsibility for climate pollution from themselves to individuals. Or plastic and recycling. It feels good to lay blame on those people who did something we did not but it doesn't help change anything material beyond that. Divides us into camps which prevents us from organizing against the profit-driven culprits.
No, it's absolutely not like oil & gas. Average person has very little impact on the energy policy of their country but has huge impact on the browser they are using. And I'm not talking about the ignorant people using the default browser without understanding the difference between Chrome and Google. I'm talking about all the technically literate people that should known better but chose to use Chrome because it's slightly more convenient. The people that attack Mozilla for not being able to compete with Google with fraction of their resources. When the only way to browse the web is with Google account I will definitely remember those people.
The technically lirerate people aren't exempt from the power dynamics created by the vast market share of Chrome and Google, created and reinforced by Google. Even if they/we have some more freedom to maneuver. We still only test our web app features on Chromium because there's limited time for testing, if any, and we can't convince product that making sure the feature works, or fixing bugs on a 2-3% browser is priority. If all the developers in the world used Firefox, it would still not change this power dynamic.
That's exactly the problem. If all the people that should know better promoted Firefox in stead of shitting on Mozilla it would not be 2-3% browser. Linux is hitting 5% market share and it's way more complicated to switch OS than a browser. It doesn't make sense that even less people user Firefox. Of course it's just my opinion but I believe that consistent effort from the community to warn people about Chrome and promote Firefox would help it keep sufficient market share to stay relevant. Instead, even here on lemmy, people love to complain about Mozilla and promote other browsers. So yeah, great job everyone.
I am shocked constantly by the number to tech-savvy people in my circle that still use chrome... Like, they complain that ublock origin "died" and I can't help but stare slack-jawed at them...
I had unsolvable captcha for Github once. Fuck ne, I guess. I just wanted to contribute something, but whatever.
To quote a song about a "Fairytale of Doom":
I try to stay optimistic that this won't be tenable. Giving in to despair makes it harder to muster the will to resist. But I won't deny it's getting tougher.
They'll mail you one. Can't use the Internet without a physical interface. Don't worry though, you won't need a CD ROM for this one.