cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/47972724
i encountered this for the first time today while attempting to read something on archive.today.
i confirmed that decoding the qrcode using a computer and following the URL it contains is insufficient; the error it gave directed me here which is what the linked screenshot is of.
the old type of captcha remains available too, for now:



The visual option is the normal reCAPTCHA (eg) and the audio option is the (quite difficult) thing they’ve been subjecting blind people to for years. Presumably they will keep offering desktop users these options (at least in many/most cases) for a long time still; this new phone-required extra-invasive CAPTCHA is just a hint of where they’re heading. (But already it is apparently actually required for Android users in some cases: https://reclaimthenet.org/google-broke-recaptcha-for-de-googled-android-users …)
I bet this will be removed soon.
if the old ways are still available, the bad guys can use 'em too… so this new thing is just to get people ‘used to’ the idea of an anal probe for verification before actually forcing it on everyone.