CAPTCHA is on its way out, Google has announced, with a brand new, simplified version of the humanity-verification tool replacing it on sites using its reCAPTCHA service.
The forms are intended to stop bots from accessing websites, improving the user experience as a result, but no one enjoys being mistaken for a non-human browser, faced with the old-style forms that asks you transcribe the distorted text displayed.
The new system, which Google dubs the "No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA," will now simply ask the visitor to check a box verifying that they are indeed "not a robot".
The old forms were pretty much useless, with Google's own research revealing that modern bots could accurately read the distorted text with 99.8 per cent accuracy, making the test unfit for purpose.
Now, the Advanced Risk Analysis backend that Google has developed "actively considers" user engagement throughout the entire process of their visit, in order to accurately detect whether they are human.
When reCAPTCHA cannot verify whether a human or a bot is trying to access a site, a traditional CAPTCHA test will prompt the user for more information with additional cues, but it will no longer be the default verification system.
On mobile devices, an image labelling system may be introduced, such as the one below.
Sites already using the new API include Snapchat, WordPress and Humble Bumble, with many more set to join them soon.
