Google has introduced a new hand-gesture verification system for reCAPTCHA that asks some users to grant camera access and perform simple hand movements to prove they are human.

The new feature is part of Google’s effort to combat increasingly sophisticated AI-powered bots, which are becoming more capable of bypassing traditional CAPTCHA tests that require users to identify a number of objects in images – from ladders and road crossings to fire trucks and bicycles – or to solve barely legible puzzles.

According to Google, the new system analyzes a short video of a user’s hand and extracts 21 hand-landmark coordinates (measurements of hand-joint positions used to recognize specific gestures).

In a blog on its Google Cloud’s defense page, the tech giant claims that videos are not linked to the user’s identity, audio is never recorded, and footage is deleted once verification is complete.

Google says that the feature provides stronger “liveness detection”, helping websites defend against automated account creation, credential-stuffing attacks and other forms of online fraud.

“I’m not a robot” tests shouldn’t require cameras

The move has prompted criticism from some privacy-focused users, who argue that requiring camera access for routine verification checks represents a further expansion of biometric-style monitoring online.

Biometric verification, where physical characteristics are increasingly used to authenticate identity and distinguish humans from machines, is set to expand exponentially as major territories introduce age verification tools to help implement age-gated social media for under 16s.

On X, user Lain on the Blockchain (@CryptoCyberia) said the system was “way worse” than traditional CAPTCHAs because it relied on a camera, adding that they would rather complete image-based challenges than use what they described as a “spooky” new verification method.

Others questioned whether the technology will remain effective. X user Peter Austin (@PeterAusti61402) claimed he had bypassed the challenge using a virtual camera and AI-generated animations.

It’s not Google’s first foray into the technology. In 2023, Google Meet added a feature that allows users to raise a physical hand in front of a webcam to trigger a virtual hand raise during meetings.

The CAPTCHA rollout also comes as Google continues to explore gesture-recognition technologies.

A recently published patent application reported on X, but not verified by Cybernews, describes using acoustic signals in wearable devices to detect hand and muscle movements, potentially enabling hands-free device control without cameras or voice commands.

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