this post was submitted on 28 May 2026
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/47972724

i encountered this for the first time today while attempting to read something on archive.today.

i confirmed that decoding the qrcode using a computer and following the URL it contains is insufficient; the error it gave directed me here which is what the linked screenshot is of.

the old type of captcha remains available too, for now:

screenshot of text: Important: Mobile verification for Google Cloud Fraud Defense is an experimental challenge type in Preview. Visual and audio challenges are available as alternatives for users who can't complete mobile verification. To use them, click the Visual  or Audio  buttons.

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 231 points 1 month ago (11 children)
  1. People without a mobile device are fucked out of being able to pass a captcha

  2. As if this isn't a way for them to associate multiple sessions on multiple specific devices with one another, this is just another avenue for data collection, period. Hidden under the guise of "more secure."

[–] Chulk@lemmy.ml 78 points 1 month ago

I imagine scammers are already thinking of ways to use this for phishing too

[–] Prove_your_argument@piefed.social 53 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Captcha has been one of the greatest google acquisitions ever.

They acquired it under the guise of improving OCR and have since morphed it into an AI data farm (how else is google lens gonna know what objects are what?) and now total insight into a users every single action from desktop to mobile, tying it all together into a surveillance nightmare.

I can guess the permissions that the recaptcha app needs now. Probably something akin to root access with all datapoints and considerations you could think of.

[–] No1@aussie.zone 20 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I used to always add one incorrect tile and skip one correct tile.(It would still pass)

I thiught I was such a rebel lol

Then I figured, they'd be stupid if they didn't show the same image to multiple people...

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[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 38 points 1 month ago (1 children)

notably, this kills any alternative to android.

[–] traceur402@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 1 month ago (2 children)

not if you kill google first

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[–] Corngood@lemmy.ml 26 points 1 month ago

You don't have to drink a verification can, but you do need to buy a verification phone.

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[–] DeuxChevaux@lemmy.world 120 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Looks like a very good way to shoo actual humans off of your website.

[–] Prove_your_argument@piefed.social 44 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Sorry, my faith in users is basically zero. These dummies will go to websites that tell them to copy code and run it with win+r. They're morons and will do anything if a website promises them something.

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[–] bravesilvernest@lemmy.ml 86 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Nice captcha. Would be a shame if someone intentionally injected malicious code that had users scan a QR code under the guise of security.

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[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 67 points 1 month ago (13 children)

Verifying you have a phone doesn't verify that you're human.

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[–] RobotToaster@mander.xyz 67 points 1 month ago (2 children)

There's no way this is ADA compliant.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 39 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

With the way the Trump admin is going I'm surprised they haven't totally dismantled the ADA already.

[–] K3LOE@lemmy.radio 30 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Clicking the headphone icon to hear the audio option is the way to bypass this if you get one.

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[–] Renat@szmer.info 61 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I once saw fake captcha scam that reuired scaning QR code to infect device. It looks exactly like that.

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[–] tjoa@feddit.org 58 points 1 month ago (4 children)

I know it has been said already but how stupid is it to teach users the pattern of randomly scanning QR codes. So ironic given that reCaptcha is for security in some sense.

[–] freedickpics@lemmy.ml 34 points 1 month ago (4 children)

It's the same with ID verification. For your safety you need to start giving random websites your drivers license or passport..

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[–] gladflag@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 month ago

It’s not for your security :(((

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[–] RodgeGrabTheCat@sh.itjust.works 57 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Without a google account there will be many sites I can't visit. I'll look at such sites the same way as I look at paywalled sites.

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[–] antonim@lemmy.world 54 points 1 month ago (2 children)
  1. Hype up AI.

  2. Everyone starts scraping the internet to obtain training data for their AI.

  3. To block the scrapers, countless sites implement stricter bot detection tools.

  4. The owners of the bot detection tools now effectively hold all of the internet by its throat, deciding who can access what and extorting more and more data from you to verify you're human.

Fucking genius.

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[–] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 47 points 1 month ago (1 children)

No malicious site would ever fake this kind of flow in order to get someone to scan a dangerous QR code. Nope, that would never happen.

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[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 45 points 1 month ago (1 children)

One more reason to not use google anything

[–] comrade_twisty@feddit.org 33 points 1 month ago

This will be used on sites like Experian, Chase, IRS, DMV, etc. It's a way to track and deanonymize everyone.

[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 42 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Any website that chooses to use this service will simply not get my traffic. If enough people feel the same, those websites will lose clicks and eventually tell Google to pound sand.

Imagine the utter hubris on these fuckers to think that people will get a google device just to access a website.

Or to think that an average user sitting at home would run to another room to grab their phone so they can verify themselves on the desktop just to visit blackcougar.com

[–] DFX4509B@lemmy.wtf 21 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

They're using the fact that everyone else both already owns a Google or iOS device, and does everything on those devices, to punish desktop and alt mobile OS users.

The fact that this is going on right as AluminumOS is down the pipes, and right as rigged parts prices threaten to kill desktops as an option to begin with makes this especially sus.

The way things are going right now, I won't be surprised if we see a computing future where you're either on a Google or Apple-controlled device, or you're on a thin client tied to a cloud subscription, and you won't own your tech anymore.

Bezos' 'Give up your PC and rent from our cloud' threat is sounding less and less like a threat and more and more likely to become reality.

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[–] eleijeep@piefed.social 42 points 1 month ago (3 children)

If you haven’t already divested from Google and its related services then now is the time.

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[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 40 points 1 month ago (1 children)
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[–] spicehoarder@lemmy.zip 38 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

That's it. JavaScript was a mistake. Time to go back to HTML only pages

[–] BlueberryWalnut@sopuli.xyz 25 points 1 month ago (2 children)

This? This is the JavaScript straw that broke your back?

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[–] birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone 33 points 1 month ago (10 children)
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[–] Etterra@discuss.online 32 points 1 month ago
[–] RagingNerdoholic@lemmy.ca 30 points 1 month ago

Fuck absolutely everything about this.

[–] 0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.com 30 points 1 month ago (1 children)

We are making side loading harder because scammers are using "these" tactics to install malware on your devices.

It's totally fine when we use the same tactics to install malware on your device.

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[–] the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 29 points 1 month ago

LOL, fuck off. How about instead I move on to somewhere less hostile toward the user instead?

[–] pwxd@lemmy.zip 28 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh boy! Another way to fingerprint your devices! Scammer are sleeping good tonight with these new verifications

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[–] akilou@sh.itjust.works 27 points 1 month ago (9 children)

Many humans don't have smart phones

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[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago
[–] DFX4509B@lemmy.wtf 24 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

How soon before reCAPTCHA-encumbered sites are blocked on desktops entirely unless you're on ChromeOS or the upcoming AluminumOS?

[–] Melobol@lemmy.ml 22 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Is an android emulator able to bypass this? Just curious - I haven't started the degoogle process.

[–] cypherpunks@lemmy.ml 28 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I would guess not, given the other recent news about degoogled Android devices also being unable to pass reCAPTCHA.

[–] comrade_twisty@feddit.org 28 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Yeah, it requires a phone that Google can positively identify and connect to a real name / google account somehow.

Graphene OS won't work, so this is a non starter for me. Any website using this will simply cease to exist in my eyes.

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[–] perdidonavida@mstdn.party 21 points 1 month ago

@cypherpunks the mere idea of requiring a device to use another is absurd. This should be illegal

[–] osanna@lemmy.vg 18 points 1 month ago (2 children)
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[–] ef9357@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago

Just another reason to not use Google.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 17 points 1 month ago

A good way to force the user to use by Google controlled devices and to download Google services for more control by Google. Also a good way that the user show the middle finger to Google, using alternatives.

[–] WhyDoYouThinkThat@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

to prove you're human, enter your credit card number

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