CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) and reCAPTCHA are security tools used to verify that the user interacting with a website is human — not a bot.
They help prevent spam, automated attacks, and unauthorized submissions by asking users to complete simple tasks like:
- Typing distorted letters or numbers from an image,
- Clicking on specific images (e.g., traffic lights or buses),
- Or simply checking a box that says “I’m not a robot.”
reCAPTCHA, developed by Google, is a more advanced version that often works silently in the background or uses behavior analysis to minimize user effort.
These tools are commonly used in contact forms, login pages, and sign-up processes to protect websites from spam and abuse.
