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Google broke reCAPTCHA for de-googled Android users

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Re: Google broke reCAPTCHA for de-googled Android users

#411
post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stop visiting sites and using services that use reCAPTCHA. Problem solved. No. Bigger problem created, since there are innumerable government, health care, and educational web sites that use reCAPTCHA. I'm not going to give up reading the test results from my doctor because of some simplistic ideologue decides that it's "problem solved."

Compliance is what makes all that shit possible. Sadly most people are compliant and made so by gradually increasing their dependency on "commodities" which really are anchors to a shit lake.

Beautiful analogy, BTW.

Suddenly I have been made aware that, having lost my paddle on Shit Creek, I will eventually be taken downstream to Shit Lake (where it appears I will inevitably drop anchor).

Re: Google broke reCAPTCHA for de-googled Android users

#412

To be fair, there are already apps that require a mobile phone to sign up, for example, VK, Telegram. And I think Google requires to scan a QR code to register account, so it is easier just to buy a Google account on a black market if you need it for some purpose. Nobody trusts web browsers nowadays.

I think you and I move in very different social circles... I would have no idea how, nor desire to purchase a Google account on the black market, and I do in fact still trust that my web browser can do TLS correctly.

My reading of codedokode:

"easier just to buy a Google account ...." for those who would choose to do that in quantity. That is, the scammers and fraudsters for whom this is a financial decision. Which suggests that Google's latest moves shift the needle only slightly against actual abuse at a huge cost to the rest of us.

"Nobody trusts web browsers ..." applies to the publishing side. Content (that is, advertiser) sites and commerce most especially. The prove-yourself hoops that those opting out of that approach (de-Googled Android, privacy-hardened browser, alternative OS) must deal with are mind-bogglingly insane, speaking from personal experience. The Web no longer brings joy.

Incidentally, Google plays strongly in the second space, such that its incentives are aligned with pushing people into the "Google Play Services" ecosystem, and to both its own browser and ad-tech personal surveillance tools.

In conclusion, Google must be destroyed.

Re: Google broke reCAPTCHA for de-googled Android users

#413

OK, so what are the alternatives, what can developers use instead?

Create your own. Captchas have long existed on the internet. Start your own Captcha As A Service. If you've not seen the dark net some of their QR checks are inquisitive.

   >? URL: .env.project :: IP: 213.209.159.175
   >? 30326336336 :: viewer key
   >? URL: lab/.env :: IP: 213.209.159.175
   >? 39363064647 :: viewer key
   >? URL: Dr0v :: IP: 185.12.59.118
   >? 76543264647 :: viewer key
   >? URL: data/.env :: IP: 213.209.159.175
   >? 63623731628 :: viewer key
   >? URL: docker/app/.env :: IP: 213.209.159.175
   >? 62653061304 :: viewer key
   >? URL: fedex/.env :: IP: 213.209.159.175
   >? 61663064656 :: viewer key

   [09/May/2026:11:31:32] notice: exiting: exceeded max connections per thread
Above is verbose from my honeypot. Some security camera network has been hacked and is being used for net thrifting in Romania.

The internet is a failure. Congratulations us.

Re: Google broke reCAPTCHA for de-googled Android users

#414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That exists! Check out Hoardy Web. https://oxij.org/software/hoardy-web/ Its whole point is undetectable archiving because it just saves what your browser already sees.

Nice, I understand it is similar to ArchiveBox + its web extension. Now to be honest, while it's optimal to archive pages from you browser view I am not sure I want a random web extension to be in everything I see from a security point of view. I would rather have a local proxy doing it. Maybe something like the InternetArchive warcproc [0]. Haven't tried yet. - [0] https://github.com/internetarchive/warcprox

for a short time i had warcprox sitting behind my firefox and auto feeding its output to pywb, it seemed to work but i had connections failing randomly after having warcprox running for more than a few hours~days. not sure if it's an issue with pywb or warcprox but there were some urls missing that i did browse on firefox, and many dynamic pages couldn't be replayed at all.

Re: Google broke reCAPTCHA for de-googled Android users

#415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stop visiting sites and using services that use reCAPTCHA. Problem solved. No. Bigger problem created, since there are innumerable government, health care, and educational web sites that use reCAPTCHA. I'm not going to give up reading the test results from my doctor because of some simplistic ideologue decides that it's "problem solved."

> I'm not going to give up reading the test results from my doctor You could just call them.

Fairly sure that would be considered a breach of patient confidentiality where I live, at least.

Re: Google broke reCAPTCHA for de-googled Android users

#416
post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really, how? At some point someone will need to issue a key, which at some point will need to be verified against known good signatures. These signatures will also need to be kept in case of lawsuirs/enforcement, so if somebody gets access they will know you visited that site

The trick is to define "privacy-preserving age verification" in an extremely narrow way that ignores any other privacy concerns. For example, imagine you put the same private key into the 'secure element' of every single iphone. You use code signing so that key is only unlocked when the phone is running unmodified iOS with all security updates. You use encryption and remote attestation for the front-facing camera and…

All so kids can't access PornHub?

Jesus Christ.

14 year old me ran into porn on the internet all the time. It didn't turn me into a serial killer.

Meanwhile we let kids have exposure to algorithms that pervert their sense of self worth, get them addicted to dopamine and gambling, and make them feel inferior to their peers.

We have the wrong priorities as a society.

And this bullshit is going to turn us into a completely tracked, monitored, controlled bunch of cattle.

We're building 1984 and we're happy about it.

Re: Google broke reCAPTCHA for de-googled Android users

#418
post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I said it already in another comment, but if you care enough to use GrapheneOS, I believe you should not only "do without it". You should also complain to those services. If enough people complain, those services will start caring. If all they see is "one user complains every 3 years", they will just ignore it. That's how it works.

Ah yes, google, the company who notoriously doesn’t offer any customer support will definitely make way for such complaints.

Drop your sarcasm for long enough to see that "I won't use your app if I have to use Google" is not a complaint _to_ Google.

The bank I was talking about were the worst net loser of customers in the UK last year (around -8000) They are making excuses but maybe they would care about why.

Re: Google broke reCAPTCHA for de-googled Android users

#419
post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Parental controls on device are a better solution that work today and don't carry a risk of data breach.

Are they a better solution? Yes Do they work currently? Not really Are they too complex for the avg joe to work out. Unfortunately yes. (Something about the smartest bears and the dumbest humans)

As long as Joe has the right to vote, which is something more important and more complex, we cannot complain that parental control is too complex.

Re: Google broke reCAPTCHA for de-googled Android users

#420
post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Parental controls on device are a better solution that work today and don't carry a risk of data breach.

They would be a solution if almost all parents used them, but parents don't want to socially isolate their kids since a lot of "social" activity is now on social media. It's kind of a prisoner's dilemma. There's not necessarily wrong. Despite the vapid and damaging nature of most popular online media, isolating a child from it might have even worse social consequences when their real-life peer groups discover that th…

I should not have to surrender my anonymity because parents are too lazy to setup parental controls.
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