On April 1st, Google will implement a new pricing model that will significantly reduce the free tier usage of reCAPTCHA and introduce new prices for the reCAPTCHA Enterprise service. Although reCAPTCHA offers decent bot protection, it is not without its flaws, yet remains quite effective. However, we at Imunify360 have decided to discontinue its use within our protection suite. This decision stems not solely from the new costs associated with its use, but more importantly, because we have developed our own bot protection technology, SplashScreen, which our recent research has shown to be as effective as Google’s reCAPTCHA.

UPD: WebShield 1.25.0 was first released to Beta on March 26 with included updates DEF-27382 PoC for the Get rid of reCaptcha epic/DEF-27508 Test&merge get rid of reCaptcha to master.
Starting from WebShield the 1.25.0 release, the Imunify360 JS challenge is used for the requests from the IPs that were graylisted.

Introduction of SplashScreen

SplashScreen, our proprietary Bot protection solution, has been part of our offerings for years, alongside Google reCAPTCHA. The impending change in Google's pricing policy prompted us to reassess the effectiveness of various bot protection mechanisms, including SplashScreen and other reCAPTCHA alternatives. Our research indicates that these technologies perform very similarly, which is likely due to how they counteract the main characteristics of network attacks. While we acknowledge the ongoing improvement of adversarial technologies, we also recognize the potential for further enhancements in SplashScreen. It is clear that no technology is perfect in the face of evolving threats.

Transition Plan

We are pleased to announce that SplashScreen will entirely replace Google reCAPTCHA in our system. This transition will be seamless for our users, requiring no changes or actions on your part.

We appreciate your understanding and continued support as we make this strategic shift to better serve your needs and maintain our commitment to providing top-tier security.