Explainers

CAPTCHA Solving Data Privacy: What Gets Sent to CaptchaAI

Before integrating any third-party service, you should know exactly what data leaves your infrastructure. This guide catalogs every piece of data transmitted to CaptchaAI per CAPTCHA type, what the API does with it, and how to minimize data exposure.

Data Sent Per CAPTCHA Type

reCAPTCHA v2/v3

Parameter Data Sent Sensitivity
key Your CaptchaAI API key Secret — never share
googlekey The reCAPTCHA sitekey (public) Low — visible in page source
pageurl The target page URL Medium — reveals which site you're automating
proxy (optional) Your proxy IP/credentials High — contains authentication
cookies (optional) Session cookies High — may contain session tokens
userAgent (optional) Browser user-agent string Low

Not sent: Page content, user credentials, form data, browser screenshots, DOM content.

Cloudflare Turnstile

Parameter Data Sent Sensitivity
key CaptchaAI API key Secret
sitekey Turnstile widget sitekey (public) Low
pageurl Target page URL Medium
action (optional) Turnstile action name Low
cdata (optional) Custom data parameter Low

Image/OCR CAPTCHA

Parameter Data Sent Sensitivity
key CaptchaAI API key Secret
body Base64-encoded CAPTCHA image Medium — contains the challenge image
numeric (optional) Expected character type Low
min_len/max_len (optional) Expected length constraints Low
language (optional) Character language hint Low

Important: The image body only contains the CAPTCHA challenge itself. It does not contain screenshots of your page, user data, or form fields — unless you accidentally include them.

GeeTest v3

Parameter Data Sent Sensitivity
key CaptchaAI API key Secret
gt GeeTest public key Low
challenge GeeTest challenge string Low — generated per request
pageurl Target page URL Medium
api_server (optional) GeeTest API server Low

What CaptchaAI Does Not Receive

CaptchaAI solvers never receive:

  • Your login credentials for target sites
  • Form field values (names, emails, passwords)
  • Page content or DOM structure
  • Browser history or local storage
  • Files from your system
  • Other API keys or tokens

The API is stateless — each request contains only the parameters you explicitly include.

Data Flow Diagram

Your Server                    CaptchaAI API                    CAPTCHA Provider
    │                              │                                  │
    │──── API key + sitekey ──────▶│                                  │
    │     + pageurl                │──── Solves CAPTCHA ─────────────▶│
    │                              │◀──── Challenge response ─────────│
    │◀──── CAPTCHA token ─────────│                                  │
    │                              │                                  │
    │ (Token used to submit form)  │                                  │

Minimizing Data Exposure

1. Don't Send Unnecessary Parameters

Only include required parameters. Optional fields like cookies, userAgent, and proxy should only be sent when they improve solve rates for your specific target.

2. Use the Minimum Required pageurl

The pageurl tells CaptchaAI which domain the CAPTCHA is on. You can use the base domain instead of the full path:

  • Full: https://example.com/account/login?ref=campaign123
  • Minimal: https://example.com/account/login

Avoid including query parameters with tracking data or user identifiers.

3. Strip Sensitive Cookies

If you send cookies for better solve rates, filter out session tokens and authentication cookies. Only send cookies required by the CAPTCHA provider:

# Only send CAPTCHA-relevant cookies
captcha_cookies = {k: v for k, v in cookies.items()
                   if k.startswith("_g") or k.startswith("cf_")}

4. Use HTTPS (Default)

CaptchaAI's API endpoint (https://ocr.captchaai.com) uses TLS encryption. All data in transit is encrypted. Never downgrade to HTTP.

5. Rotate API Keys

If a key is compromised, it only grants access to your CaptchaAI balance — not to your target sites or data. Rotate keys periodically and revoke old ones.

Common Privacy Concerns

Concern Reality
"CaptchaAI sees my target site's content" No. Only the sitekey and URL are sent. Page content stays on your server.
"CaptchaAI stores my CAPTCHA images" Image CAPTCHAs are processed and discarded. They're not stored for training.
"CaptchaAI can use my proxy for other purposes" Proxies are only used for the specific solve request.
"Solved tokens can be replayed" Tokens expire in 60–300 seconds and are single-use.
"CaptchaAI knows what I'm automating" Only the pageurl domain is visible. No context about your business logic.

Compliance Considerations

Regulation Relevance to CAPTCHA Solving
GDPR If pageurl or cookies contain PII, minimize what you send
SOC 2 Audit trail recommended — log what's sent and when
CCPA CAPTCHA images rarely contain consumer data
HIPAA Never include PHI in CAPTCHA requests (shouldn't happen naturally)

For most CAPTCHA solving scenarios, the data transmitted is technical metadata (sitekeys, URLs, challenge images) — not personal data. However, audit logging helps demonstrate compliance.

Troubleshooting

Concern Action
Need to verify what's being sent Log request parameters before sending (exclude API key)
Proxy credentials in request Use IP-whitelisted proxies to avoid sending credentials
Cookies with session tokens Filter to CAPTCHA-relevant cookies only
Full URL with PII in query string Strip query parameters before sending

FAQ

Does CaptchaAI use my data to train AI models?

CaptchaAI processes CAPTCHA challenges to return solutions. Specific data retention and usage policies are available in their terms of service.

Can I use CaptchaAI without sending a proxy?

Yes. Many CAPTCHA types support proxyless solving. Only send a proxy when required for specific targets.

Is the API key the only authentication?

Yes. The API key authenticates your requests. Protect it like any other credential — use environment variables, Vault, or secrets management.

Next Steps

Make informed decisions about your CAPTCHA solving integration — get your CaptchaAI API key.

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