A Captcha is a simple test to tell humans and robots apart. It’s easy for humans to solve but difficult for bots and other malicious software.
After Google-owned reCAPTCHA switched to a paid model, many people started looking for free alternatives.
hCaptcha has become the largest independent Captcha service, now used on 15% of the Internet.
hCaptcha helps protect user privacy and assists companies in tagging their data. It offers simple and reliable bot detection, remaining easy for humans to solve.
hCaptcha, introduced by the machine learning-based organization Intuition Machines, is now one of the most popular Captcha services.
How does hCaptcha work?
hCaptcha operates similarly to other CAPTCHA services.
To install hCaptcha on a website, you need to:
- Add a few lines of HTML and server-side code to your site.
- Embed the hCaptcha widget into any form on your website.
- When a user solves the hCaptcha challenge, the response is sent to the hCaptcha server API for verification.
- If the response is correct, the user receives additional approval.
hCaptcha works with all major browsers, including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari.
hCaptcha Vs Google reCAPTCHA
Google reCAPTCHA, introduced in 2007, is one of the oldest CAPTCHA services, providing bot protection for millions of websites. However, many large organizations have transitioned to hCaptcha due to reCAPTCHA’s limitations. Earlier this year, Google announced that reCAPTCHA would start being a paid service.
hCaptcha is a free, privacy-friendly alternative to Google reCAPTCHA.
Like reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha helps websites defend against spam bots. However, hCaptcha is a modern CAPTCHA service that offers better value in terms of cost, user privacy, and challenge difficulty compared to Google reCAPTCHA.
Unlike advertising-driven services, hCaptcha benefits both users and companies.
Here are the advantages of hCaptcha over Google reCAPTCHA:
- Privacy: hCaptcha does not collect or sell user data, whereas Google reCAPTCHA uses it for advertising. hCaptcha only detects basic information such as mouse movements and keystrokes to differentiate between humans and bots.
- Price: hCaptcha is a free service, while Google reCAPTCHA is now a paid service.
- Performance: According to Cloudflare tests, hCaptcha provides better speed and resolution performance compared to Google reCAPTCHA, which has relatively low performance.
- Availability: hCaptcha is accessible everywhere, while Google reCAPTCHA is not available in regions where Google is restricted, such as China.
- Revenue Generation: Website owners can generate revenue based on the number of CAPTCHAs resolved on their site using hCaptcha, a feature not offered by Google reCAPTCHA.
What Are the Differences Between CAPTCHA vs. reCAPTCHA vs. hCAPTCHA?
The key difference between CAPTCHA, reCAPTCHA, and hCAPTCHA lies in their difficulty for bots to solve.
CAPTCHA is the easiest for bots to crack. reCAPTCHA, a more advanced version, is harder for bots to handle. hCAPTCHA is the toughest, almost impossible for bots to solve.
Here’s a summary of their differences:
| Feature | CAPTCHA | reCAPTCHA | hCAPTCHA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart | reCAPTCHA | Human Captcha |
| Developer | Various | Intuition Machines | |
| Type of Challenge | Text, image, audio | Image, visual perception, ‘I am not a robot’, mouse movements | Mouse movements, ‘I am not a robot’, images |
| Difficulty | Easy for bots | Difficult for bots | Very difficult for bots |
| Accessibility | Not very accessible | More accessible than CAPTCHA | Most accessible |
Reasons to use hCaptcha
Main benefits of using hCaptcha on a website:
- Eliminate False Comments: Spammers often use automated comments to build backlinks to their sites, typically targeting popular blogs. Implementing hCaptcha on your website’s comment form can help you filter out unwanted fake comments.
- Prevent Fake Accounts: Bots may create fake user accounts by bypassing standard registration forms. hCaptcha can help prevent this by blocking such automated attempts.
- Ensure Safe and Secure Shopping: To confirm that orders on your eCommerce site come from real people, not bots, you should use an hCaptcha-based payment form.
- Filter Out Fake Emails: To keep your email marketing list free from bot-generated addresses, integrate hCaptcha with top email marketing tools like MailChimp. For instance, WPForms allows you to create a Mailchimp form that filters out non-human contacts using hCaptcha.
Prices
hCaptcha is free for publishers of all sizes. For companies and platforms requiring more control, enterprise solutions are also available. These enterprise hCaptcha solutions safeguard millions of users across tens of millions of websites for some of the world’s largest companies.
How to implement hCaptcha with WPForms
Keeping your website forms secure and free from spam is essential and should be straightforward.
That’s why the new hCaptcha integration in WPForms v1.6.4 is so useful.
WPForms, the popular WordPress plugin for creating custom contact forms, is now enhancing its marketing integrations with the addition of the Sendinblue add-on.
Protect your forms from BOTs and Spam with hCaptcha
Earlier this year, WPForms enhanced its spam prevention capabilities, making your forms better protected right from the start. To provide an additional layer of protection using advanced AI technology, the new hCaptcha integration was introduced, offering more options for CAPTCHA services.
hCaptcha is a free tool designed to keep spam and bots out of forms by asking simple questions to verify that users are human. It leverages sophisticated machine learning and artificial intelligence to differentiate between human users and spam.
As a popular alternative to Google’s reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha focuses on privacy and aligns with recent regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
Whether you want to avoid Google’s reCAPTCHA due to privacy concerns, site conflicts, or simply prefer a different approach to blocking spam and malicious traffic, hCaptcha offers an easy-to-start, free service.
In WPForms settings, you now have the option to choose between Google’s reCAPTCHA or hCaptcha.
This choice allows you to provide a seamless experience for users submitting your forms while avoiding Google’s reCAPTCHA. You can protect your forms from bots, spam, and intrusions while maintaining your privacy.
Similar to reCAPTCHA settings, you can adjust error messages, enable No-Conflict mode, and preview your CAPTCHA with a professional appearance on your form’s frontend.
These settings are also available in the module generator.
Once you select a CAPTCHA service, your choice will be visible directly in the generator. After enabling the settings, you can access the hCaptcha options by clicking the hCaptcha button in one of your forms.
FAQ’s
What is hCaptcha?
hCaptcha is a tool that tells humans and bots apart by giving simple tasks to users. It helps protect websites from spam and malicious activity.
How do I set up hCaptcha?
- Add HTML and server-side code to your site.
- Embed the hCaptcha widget in your forms.
- Verify responses through hCaptcha’s server.
How does hCaptcha differ from Google reCAPTCHA?
- Privacy: hCaptcha doesn’t sell data; Google reCAPTCHA does.
- Cost: hCaptcha is free; Google reCAPTCHA is paid.
- Performance: hCaptcha is faster.
- Global Reach: hCaptcha works everywhere; Google reCAPTCHA may not.
- Revenue: hCaptcha allows you to earn money; Google reCAPTCHA doesn’t.
Why use hCaptcha?
- Blocks spam comments.
- Prevents fake accounts.
- Secures online purchases.
- Filters out fake emails.
How to add hCaptcha to WPForms?
- Use WPForms v1.6.4 or later.
- Select hCaptcha in WPForms settings.
- Configure your hCaptcha settings.
Conclusion
hCaptcha offers a robust, privacy-focused alternative to Google reCAPTCHA, providing effective bot protection while being free of charge. It’s easy to implement and works across all major browsers, making it an excellent choice for securing your website’s forms. Whether you’re looking to block spam, prevent fake accounts, or secure online transactions, hCaptcha delivers a reliable solution. By integrating hCaptcha with WPForms, you can enhance your site’s security while enjoying the benefits of a privacy-friendly, cost-effective CAPTCHA service.