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 228 points 5 days ago (17 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 77 points 5 days ago

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

[–] Prove_your_argument@piefed.social 53 points 5 days 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.

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[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 38 points 4 days ago (3 children)

notably, this kills any alternative to android.

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[–] Corngood@lemmy.ml 25 points 5 days ago

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

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[–] Renat@szmer.info 63 points 4 days 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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[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 66 points 4 days ago (10 children)

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

[–] IratePirate@feddit.org 15 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Just like Recaptchas haven't been a challenge to bots for a long time. Still, we had to deal with this shit. Makes you wonder if it's just a stupid fucking pretext... 🤔

[–] AfricanExpansionist@lemmy.ml 14 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Isn't it training for AI and automated cars?

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[–] DeuxChevaux@lemmy.world 120 points 5 days ago (1 children)

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

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.

[–] antonim@lemmy.world 54 points 4 days 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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[–] bravesilvernest@lemmy.ml 95 points 5 days 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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[–] the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 29 points 4 days ago

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

[–] 0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 4 days 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.

[–] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 9 points 4 days ago

malware is bytecode Google didn't approve of. when google spies on you, that's just "legitimate interest"

[–] RobotToaster@mander.xyz 74 points 5 days ago (2 children)

There's no way this is ADA compliant.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 38 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

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

[–] K3LOE@lemmy.radio 32 points 4 days 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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[–] tjoa@feddit.org 59 points 4 days 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 4 days 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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[–] WhyDoYouThinkThat@lemmy.world 17 points 4 days ago (1 children)

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

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[–] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 47 points 4 days 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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[–] spicehoarder@lemmy.zip 44 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

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

[–] BlueberryWalnut@sopuli.xyz 25 points 4 days ago (2 children)

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

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[–] RodgeGrabTheCat@sh.itjust.works 57 points 5 days 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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[–] osanna@lemmy.vg 19 points 4 days ago (2 children)
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[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 43 points 4 days 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 19 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days 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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[–] ef9357@lemmy.world 18 points 4 days ago

Just another reason to not use Google.

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 32 points 4 days ago
[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 40 points 4 days ago (1 children)
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[–] RagingNerdoholic@lemmy.ca 29 points 4 days ago

Fuck absolutely everything about this.

[–] eleijeep@piefed.social 42 points 5 days ago (3 children)

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

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[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 45 points 5 days ago (1 children)

One more reason to not use google anything

[–] comrade_twisty@feddit.org 33 points 5 days ago

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

[–] itsjustachairmary@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

I got one of these. They had accessibility options so I just did the auditory one. It says a couple words, you write them out, and you're done. Like hell am I using a Phone for this shit.

[–] DFX4509B@lemmy.wtf 26 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

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

[–] pwxd@lemmy.zip 35 points 5 days ago (1 children)

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

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[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

I still won't order online from a store that won't show me shipping cost without a full address and phone number. I'll give them the zip code, that's all they need, that's all they get before I decide.

[–] motruck@lemmy.zip 8 points 3 days ago

Everyone needs to fail the test over and over again until they fall back to their non-we want to fuck everyone over even more world.

[–] birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone 33 points 5 days ago (10 children)
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[–] akilou@sh.itjust.works 27 points 5 days ago (9 children)

Many humans don't have smart phones

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[–] BillCheddar@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

...just use a different website?

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[–] formlessoedon@lemmy.ml 14 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

On the bright side, this means they are really worried that privacy practices such as those popular among the Lemmy crowd can make their surveillance expensive or maybe even impractical at scale, rather than profitable. I'm never sure if it's working, with firmware and all. Almost a good sign? Am I deluded?

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