Cloudflare is carrying out a new experiment to re-shape and transform the internet identification test.
Cloudflare says CAPTCHA tests, the internet security strengthening tool is a waste of time and should be discarded as soon as possible.
As per Cloudflare’s calculation using their formula, it was found that humanity is wasting about 500 years per day on not so effective CAPTCHA tests, denting the productivity at large.
All the internet users must be familiar with the test, when you expect to see the submitting page after your long filled application, rather what you see is a collage of pictures and a question at the bottom, and a check-box to mark if you are not a robot.
It is somewhat annoying as it is no less than frequent in a daily internet user’s life. As per the blog posted on Cloudflare’s website, research engineer Thibault Meunier did a calculation based on its data suggesting an average user takes 32 seconds to complete a CAPTCHA test.
There are approximately 4.6 billion internet users in the world and taking an assumption that an average user sees one test per 10 days while surfing the web makes it 500 unproductive years per day trying to prove we are not robots.
The test is less in terms of its effectiveness and ignores a number of variables accounting for the right answer. Those variables include cultural and accessibility issues, and not everyone knows what a fire hydrant is.
Many of the internet users are those who are visually impaired, and in a world where technology is aiding them with tools of convenience, CAPTCHA seems like doing the right opposite. All-in-all, it makes it a tool not-so-effective in strengthening web security. The web test was developed in 1997 and got its current name in 2003 “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.
The useless CAPTCHA test, as thought by Cloudfare does not only harms productivity but also consumes battery and internet data. That is why Cloudfare is running an experiment to “end the madness.”
“The idea is rather simple: a real human should be able to touch or look at their device to prove they are human, without revealing their identity,” Meunier wrote. Adding on, he said, “We want you to be able to prove that you are human without revealing which human you are! You may ask if this is even possible? And the answer is: Yes.”