A website is a dynamic ecosystem where tons of customers come by every day. 

Many times these visits are harmless but it’s not uncommon for bots and fake accounts to visit your site and cause serious harm. Bots can affect your site’s functioning and steal precious customer and company data. 

To avoid that you need protection and that is where Google’s Recaptcha comes in. 

In this article, we will explore what Google Captcha is all about, its types, how it protects you from scams, and how to make it work. 

To know Google Recaptcha in detail, read till the end. 

What is Google ReCaptcha? 

Google Recaptcha is like a barrier that allows legit users to pass through while blocking bots. 

It keeps malicious software from engaging in abusive activities on your website by utilizing an advanced risk analysis engine and adaptive challenges.  

It allows legitimate users to log in, make purchases, view pages, or create accounts and fake users are blocked.

Google reCAPTCHA has been at the forefront of bot mitigation for more than a decade and actively protects data for a network of 5 million websites around the world. 

Types of Google ReCaptcha

There are 4 types of ReCaptcha that websites can utilize for web protection. Details of each are mentioned below. 

reCAPTCHA v3

reCAPTCHA v3 lets you verify if an interaction is legit or not, without any user interaction.

The reCAPTCHA v3 is a pure JavaScript API that returns a score. That gives you the ability to take action for your website’s safety. 

Released in 2018, it requires additional factors of authentication, it sends posts for moderation, and throttles bots that are stealing content from your site. 

reCAPTCHA v2 “I’m not a robot”

The reCAPTCHA v2 displays the “I’m not a robot” checkbox, making the user click a box. This helps to show if the user is a robot or not.
The checkbox makes the user go through 2 stages: either it passes them immediately or challenges them to validate whether or not they are human by showing images and asking them to pinpoint ones with certain objects.
This is the simplest reCAPTCHA option to integrate with and only requires 2 lines of HTML coding.

reCAPTCHA v2 (Invisible reCAPTCHA badge)

The reCAPTCHA v2 invisible reCAPTCHA badge, by default, only asks the most suspicious traffic to solve a captcha. 

If you want to alter this, you can do so by editing your site’s security preference which lies under advanced settings.

The invisible reCAPTCHA doesn’t require the user to click on any checkbox and instead invokes it directly when the user clicks on an existing button on a website. It can be invoked through a JavaScript API call and when reCAPTCHA verification is complete, the integration requires a JavaScript callback. 

reCAPTCHA v2 (Android)

The reCAPTCHA v2 for Android sets up Google Play services in your app and before invoking the reCAPTCHA API it connects to the GoogleApiClient. 

The reCAPTCHA Android library is a part of the Google Play services SafetyNet APIs and provides native Android APIs that you can integrate directly into an app. 

This Recaptcha either passes the user immediately or challenges them to validate whether they are a human or a bot. 

Google’s ReCAPTCHA and Spam Protection

Below are the benefits of using Recaptcha for protection against online scams: 

Evaluates a Range of Cues

ReCAPTCHA doesn’t depend on text distortions solely to separate humans from bots but rather uses advanced risk analysis techniques to minimize risk. 

It takes into account the user’s entire engagement and evaluates a wide range of cues that distinguish humans from bots.

Uses AI Factors 

AI (artificial intelligence) has revolutionized the world and has made it easier for computers to differentiate between a real user (human) and a bot. 

To offer advanced security to its users, the reCAPTCHA makes use of AI to recognize human behavior that bots can not follow. 

The tests are passable for any human user, regardless of their age, education, gender, or language.

The Google reCAPTCHA utilizes risk-based bot algorithms that apply continuous machine learning (ML) to factor in every customer and bot interaction offering the best protection against bots to your site! 

Minimizes Web-Scraping

Web Scraping is a practice followed by cyber criminals to collect data from websites. Web scraping is an automated bot threat to fulfill malicious purposes, such as price undercutting, content reselling, etc.

Scrapers who abuse your site and retrieve data often try to avoid detection. These bots can be hiding in plain sight, appearing as a legitimate service in their user agent string. 

Google reCAPTCHA identifies these bots and continues to identify them as they evolve. The ReCaptcha works perfectly without causing interference to human consumers. 

Prevents Fraudulent Transactions

Fraudsters use stolen or fake credit cards to make purchases online, which can often cause chargeback or involvement with law enforcement. 

This not only costs your business time and money but also provides an avenue for organized crime to use their credit card databases on your site.

With Recaptcha v2 and v3, it is not easy for bots to make fraudulent transactions and are thus blocked from your site. 

Protest Against Account Takeovers and Hijacking

An Account Takeover and Hijacking is an attack where someone uses a stolen or leaked credential to login and take over a legitimate person’s account. 

With time these attacks have become common and are rapidly rising. 

A simple password is no longer a sufficient form of authentication and protection and thus it must be paired with a secondary layer of security. That extra protection is offered by Recaptcha. 

It uses advanced algorithms and AI to protect your account as much as possible keeping your site and accounts safe from scams. 

Safeguards Against Synthetic Accounts

Another type of scam that Recaptcha protects you against is synthetic or fake accounts which are becoming increasingly popular among scammers. All manner of fraud on eCommerce, marketplace, and social media sites starts with such synthetic accounts. 

A synthetic account allows fraudsters to commit a range of activities like spreading misinformation, causing abuse and creating false listings, etc. 

How to Get Google’s reCAPTCHA for Woocommerce and WordPress

Below are some useful plugins that you can install on your Woo-commerce and WordPress site for ReCaptcha protection. 

Google ReCaptcha for WooCommerce

The WooCommerce Recaptcha plugin by KoalaApps allows you to add reCaptcha on your login, password reset, registration, and on other WooCommerce pages. 

It supports captcha v3 and captcha v2 versions of Google’s invisible captcha. Bot traffic may try to breach your site by making login attempts but this extension can act as an extra security gate to block bot traffic. 

With the invisible reCaptcha, you can ensure the captcha appears only for suspicious visitors to avoid affecting the experience of your genuine customers. 

reCaptcha for WooCommerce by I13 Web Solution

Automated tools and bots do not let your site perform its best. They steal data and affect functioning, therefore every website should have a captcha that protects them from automated bots. 

Google Recaptcha plugin for woocommerce provides you with the best protection by involving human interaction to avoid bots. It has 8k+ active installations and stops fake registration and guest orders on your site.

The reCAPTCHA shields malware from hurting your site. The WooCommerce reCaptcha provides an all-in-one captcha for WooCommerce as well as WordPress. The settings are easy and you can use the on/off captcha at required places. 

Google ReCaptcha by BestWebSoft

The Google ReCaptcha plugin by BestWebSoft is one of the best WordPress captcha plugins that provide security to users looking for web-based CAPTCHA solutions. 

A major benefit of this plugin is that it integrates with your login, comment fields, user registration, contact form, and password recovery options, seamlessly 

The reCaptcha plugin is compatible with many different contact form tools, including Ultimate Member, Divi, BuddyPress, bbPress, Forums, and many others. 

It supports reCAPTCHA version 2 and 3 and can be customized to match your site’s needs. 

Google ReCaptcha for WooCommerce Plugin

Now you can include Google reCaptcha, within your WordPress and WooCommerce pages to keep them secure. This extension by WP White Security is compatible with Google’s v2 and v3 forms of invisible ReCaptcha.

Using this plugin, you can enable reCaptcha so that users can log in, reset their passwords, and register, securely. 

You can also enable reCaptcha for payment methods and checkout pages to provide an additional layer of protection to your e-store. 

Advanced noCaptcha & invisible Captcha

The Advanced noCaptcha & invisible Captcha by WP White Security is one of the best plugins for WooCommerce. 

Using the plugin, you can place the CAPTCHA on the WordPress login page, directly. A great feature of this plugin is that it allows you to display the CAPTCHA for a specified time after a certain duration.

Another feature of this plugin that distinguishes it from others is that it allows you to display the CAPTCHA only after a user provides incorrect details. 

The subscribers will not see the CAPTCHA by default when they log in. If wrong credentials are entered, the plugin displays a CAPTCHA within the form.

Advanced noCaptcha (v2 and v3)

Advanced noCaptcha & invisible Captcha by Shamim Hassan lets real people pass through your WooCommerce registration forms, login forms, and checkout pages. 

The plugin makes it easy for you to display invisible Captcha or invisible captcha in other forms, as well including comments, bbPress, lost password, Contact Form 7, BuddyPress, and reset the password. 

A major benefit of this plugin is that it permits multiple captchas on the same page. Plus, you can customize the captcha e.g captcha themes or sizes.

The invisible Captcha can be displayed on numerous forms by default but you will have to add the shortcode to implement the invisible Captcha in Contact Form 7 if needed. 

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA

The Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA by Robert Peake protects WordPress sites and WooCommerce stores from spam. 

With over 70 thousand users you can’t deny the power this plugin holds in terms of web security. 

It is relatively simple to use and that is why it limits the number of assisted form types. 

Major features of this plugin include the reCaptcha checkbox on WordPress and WooCommerce login, user registration, and forgotten password pages. 

In case of any queries, you can check the FAQs or consult with the developer. 

No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA for WooCommerce

No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA for WooCommerce by the Mail Optin team is designed for WooCommerce e-stores. 

The plugin adds No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA to WooCommerce registration, login, and password reset forms. 

Additionally, the plugin detects the user’s language automatically as well to offer better results.  The plugin offers frequent updates and provides a theme selection for the captcha. 

A point to keep in mind is that multiple reCAPTCHA can not appear on the same page meaning only a single reCAPTCHA can exist per web page.

If you activate the CAPTCHA in both login and registration forms, the CAPTCHA will appear only in the login form.

Final Words 

In this article, we explored Google Recaptcha protection in detail. We discussed its definition, types, how it protects sites from scams, and how it can be installed. 

Google Recaptcha acts as a barrier that allows legit users to pass through while blocking bots. It has 4 types, V3, and V2 with 3 further types

It protects against data theft, fraudulent transactions, and many other attacks through advanced algorithms and AI. 

There are many plugins that can be installed on a website to avail web protection, the best of which are the WooCommerce Recaptcha plugin by KoalaApps and reCaptcha for WooCommerce by I13 Web Solution. 

The WooCommerce Recaptcha plugin by KoalaApps allows you to add reCaptcha on your login, password reset, registration, and on other WooCommerce pages. 

On the other hand, the reCaptcha for WooCommerce by I13 Web Solution provides you with the best protection by involving human interaction to avoid bots. 

We recommend you read the full article for a detailed understanding of Recaptcha and check out more articles like this on the site.