Archive.Today starting to use Google’s QR-based reCaptcha
#recaptcha #degoogle #datahoarder
The site has a few variant domains, unsure why, and archive.md, the one I’d been using, threw the QR reCaptcha just now, as per the attached image, while archive.today directly threw the good ol’ “try to verify a dozen times” version.
The recaptcha may appear even when the user is not using a VPN if it grows suspicious, meaning the site may soon be inaccessible without bending to Google.
I can’t tell if there’s a way to deal with this from the screenshot, but that looks like an accessibility nightmare. How is a blind person supposed to accomplish that task?
What if I don’t have a mobile phone? What if I do, but the camera is broken? What if… eh, fuck Google.
In the voice of Generic Google’s Spokesperson:
Q: “How is a blind person supposed to accomplish that task?”
A: Just use our new AI read-a-loud function! Just $19.99 a month!
Q: “What if I don’t have a mobile phone?”
A: But everyone has a phone nowadays!
Q: “What if I do, but the camera is broken?”
A: Just buy this new Google Pixel with all pieces soldered together, so you don’t have to worry about refurbishing anymore!
Q: “What if… eh, fuck Google.”
A: Just–! …We know where you live… Your routine… Most of your friends and coworkers have Our services. Beware what you say.
Jokes aside, Google isn’t there to make things easier, going by their modus operandi. Embrace, Expand, Extinguish, as Microsoft’s internal strategies found in a lawsuit from the early 2000’s would say.
I’m pretty sure they’re totally okay with screwing over thousands of potential users… As long as they can capture the identities of millions of them.
How can this in any way shape or form prove that someone is human?
That’s what the headphones icon is for…audio captcha.
I think I’m gonna start using audio captchas from now on.
I’ve heard some of the captcha bypass libraries do that because it’s a lot easier to process speech than images.