Do We Need CAPTCHA?
Martin Průcha, 01. 08. 2024
Ever find yourself staring at a CAPTCHA, wondering if it’s more of a test for your patience than your humanity? As we navigate an increasingly digital world, these quirky puzzles – whether they are jumbled letters or squiggly shapes – are supposed to keep bots at bay.
The question is: does it do more good than harm? Do we truly need it?
Brief History of CAPTCHA
The first concept of CAPTCHA was developed and patented in 1997 and its purpose was to prevent bots from performing certain online tasks. They were challenged to do tasks that are easy for humans but difficult for machines, such as recognition of letters in a distorted image.
The term “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart” was first used in 2003 by Luis von Ahn, Manuel Blum, Nicholas J. Hopper, and John Langford.
Not all CAPTCHAs are visual; there are also audio CAPTCHAs that require users to listen to a series of spoken words or a phrase and then enter what they heard it.
It was assumed then that robots would never be able to solve CAPTCHAs and, therefore, they were the perfect mechanism for protecting websites. Fast forward to today, CAPTCHA has become both a familiar online gatekeeper and a source of frustration. What was once hailed as a foolproof barrier against bots now faces its own challenges.
Is CAPTCHA Really Useful?
Despite their initial promise, CAPTCHAs now grapple with various drawbacks that undermine their intended purpose. As technology and user experiences evolve, it’s crucial to rethink whether CAPTCHAs still serve their intended function or if they’ve become more of a hassle than a help.
Click Farms
CAPTCHAs can be bypassed by sending them to “human click farms,” where workers are hired to solve the CAPTCHAs. In 2010, a University of California at San Diego study revealed that solving one million CAPTCHAs could cost as little as $1,000.
Discrimination of Visually Impaired
CAPTCHAs that rely on reading text or other visual tasks can block access for blind or visually impaired users. Since CAPTCHAs are designed to be unreadable by machines, they are also inaccessible to common assistive technologies like screen readers.
30% Failure Rate
Although CAPTCHAs are effective at differentiating between human users and bots, they can still be challenging to complete. A Baymard research study reveals that the human error rate for CAPTCHAs is nearly 30%. This means that out of every 100 people attempting to solve a CAPTCHA, around 30 will end up failing.
500 Years Wasted Every Day
According to a study from 2021 made by a web infrastructure and security company Cloudflare, people worldwide waste the equivalent of 500 human years each day trying to solve CAPTCHAs.
“Based on our data, it takes a user on average 32 seconds to complete a CAPTCHA challenge. There are 4.6 billion global Internet users. We assume a typical Internet user sees approximately one CAPTCHA every 10 days. This very simple back of the envelope math equates to somewhere in the order of 500 human years wasted every single day — just for us to prove our humanity.” says Thibault Meunier in his blog post.
Bypass by Bots
Bots can bypass CAPTCHAs easily, using AI or human help. Some bots even outsource CAPTCHA solving to people, presenting the puzzle to users of less important apps or websites run by hackers.
The Ups and Downs of CAPTCHA
Users generally dislike CAPTCHAs. They’re prone to errors – like selecting the wrong images or missing characters – and disrupt the user experience. Despite their flaws, CAPTCHAs add a layer of security, though the solution isn’t perfect. Finding a balance between security and user experience remains crucial; it’s time to think outside the box for solutions that don’t make us feel like we’re stuck in an endless loop of frustration.
Author: Kristýna Supradnyan
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