In iOS 16, Apple has added a feature that will make life easier for many users: Automatic Verificationwhich will allow you to superare i CAPTCHA. Your iPhone already knows that “You are not a robot”, it will then authenticate access to sites and apps for you. No need for you to decipher scribbled letters or recognize how many photographs have traffic lights (or the like) inside.
iOS 16 authenticates your login and bypasses CAPTCHAs on sites and apps
The new operating system for iPhones will officially arrive in Autumn. But amid the WWDC 2022 announcements, developer releases and code analysis, many experts are already posting online all the secrets of iOS 16. The latest news comes from MacRumors and speaks of a novelty resulting from a double collaboration of Apple.
In fact Apple would have partnered with Fastly e Cloudflare, two of the main ‘content delivery networks’, to find a safe alternative to CAPTCHAs. The new function, which in addition to on iOS 16 it should also come up macOS Ventura, allows sites to recognize the new system. Which should avoid spam on sites but at the same time make it easier for users to navigate.
Just activate it in the settings.
And it will work on tons of sites: Fastly and Cloudflare have a good portion of the internet on their servers. Especially if you are used to using VPN and navigate deleting cookies, it could save you a lot of time.
How does the new system work?
Apple calls the new system to bypass CAPTCHA Private Access Tokens. To simplify a complex system, we can say that your smartphone can use different intelligent systems for determine that you are human, without the need to decipher sentences written in a convoluted way. Once this is determined, in case the site asks for an anti-spam verification, your smartphone will deposit a token that certifies that you are not a robot.
The anti-spam verification so there is anyway, but it happens by anonymously evaluating how you use your smartphone. If you want to deepen the technical aspect, here you can find the dedicated Fastly article, while here the Apple session at WWDC 2022.
Interestingly, when explaining the PATs, Cloudflare specifies that neither Apple nor the site’s service provider have never access to personal information. So your privacy shouldn’t be harmed by this convenience. Apple also specifies that although it uses your Apple ID in the verification process, it does not share any data (email or phone number, for example). The only thing the site or app gets is thereapproved by Applewhich ensures that you are not a robot and nothing more.
Apple with iOS 16 is not the only one that wants to overcome CAPTCHAs
CAPTCHAs have served for years as “public Turing test “ to prevent bots and spam systems from creating problems on sites around the world. But the extra process they require slows down browsing and enjoying online content. Something that companies that operate online want to avoid, in order to simplify access for users.
So there are many companies that are working on systems similar to that of iOS 16, not just Apple. For example, Fastly explains that the same Google helped develop the PAT solution. For two years now, Mountain View has been developing a system in Chrome per superare i CAPTCHA. Although she is preferring to outsource the development to building it herself as Apple did.
So on PCs and Macs, iPhones and Android smartphones, a future without CAPTCHA. Soon we will have to decipher incomprehensible scriptures just to understand our doctor’s prescription (or our notes taken in a hurry).