CAPTCHA UX: Why CAPTCHA is bad and its alternatives

• CAPTCHA is a test designed to distinguish humans from robots.
• The term CAPTCHA stands for "Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart".
• CAPTCHA was invented by Alan Turing, based on the knowledge of human abilities that differ from those of computers.
• The basic use of CAPTCHA is to allow privileged online activities only to humans, by creating tests that bots cannot solve.
• CAPTCHA was developed in the late 1990s during the rise of ecommerce.
• There are several reasons why CAPTCHAs are considered bad for user experience.
• Graphical CAPTCHAs are difficult for general users, leading to frustration.
• Bots and scammers can easily bypass CAPTCHAs, making them ineffective in some cases.
• Continuous advancements in machine learning make CAPTCHAs more accessible to bots.
• Many companies are now choosing to not use CAPTCHA at all due to the negative impact on user experience.

The CAPTCHA-killers (or alternatives to CAPTCHA)

• There are alternative methods to distinguish humans from bots without using CAPTCHA.
• Some alternatives include behavioral analysis, user authentication, and biometric identification.
• Behavioral analysis involves analyzing user behavior to determine if they are human or bot.
• User authentication methods like two-factor authentication can provide stronger security without the need for CAPTCHA.
• Biometric identification, such as fingerprint or voice recognition, can also be used to verify a user's identity.

In conclusion, CAPTCHA is considered bad for UX due to its difficulty for users and the ease with which bots can bypass it. Alternative methods that provide better user experiences and stronger security are being adopted by many companies.