CAPTCHA
Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart
A challenge or risk check used to distinguish likely human activity from automated abuse.
Plain English
A gate intended to slow bots while allowing legitimate people to continue.
In context
CAPTCHA systems may use interaction signals puzzles or alternative verification and should balance abuse resistance privacy accessibility and failure recovery.
Example
“The signup flow shows a CAPTCHA only after suspicious repeated attempts.”
When you'll hear this
- account protection
- form security
- abuse response
Common misunderstanding
CAPTCHA does not stop all automation and can block legitimate users especially when no accessible alternative exists.
Also known as
captcha challengehuman verification
Commonly used by
Related terms
Updated: 2026-08-27
