How to Solve reCAPTCHA in Web Scraping Using Python

In the realm of web scraping, developers often face the hurdle of reCAPTCHA. Designed to distinguish between humans and automated bots, reCAPTCHA can be a frustrating roadblock for those seeking to extract data from websites. However, with the aid of Python and tools like Capsolver, it is possible to bypass reCAPTCHA and continue scraping valuable information.

Understanding reCAPTCHA:

reCAPTCHA, developed by Google, is a widely used security measure employed by websites to prevent automated bots from accessing their content. It presents users with various challenges, such as identifying objects, solving puzzles, or selecting specific images, to verify human interaction.

Different Types of reCAPTCHAs:

reCAPTCHA comes in different flavors to cater to various needs and levels of security:

reCAPTCHA v1:

This is the original version of reCAPTCHA. Users were presented with two distorted words and were required to type them into a text box. One of the words was a known word used to verify if the user was human, and the other was an unknown word used to help digitize text from books and other sources. If you see this style of CAPTCHA on a website, it’s a clear indication that reCAPTCHA v1 is being used.

reCAPTCHA v2 (Standard):

This version introduced the famous “I’m not a robot” checkbox. Once a user checks this box, reCAPTCHA assesses the user’s behavior to determine if they’re human. If reCAPTCHA suspects the user might be a bot, it presents a secondary challenge, usually image-based, to further verify if the user is human.

reCAPTCHA v2 (Invisible):

The invisible variant of reCAPTCHA v2 offers the same level of security as the standard version but with a more seamless user experience. Rather than asking users to check a box, invisible reCAPTCHA v2 triggers a CAPTCHA challenge only when it detects suspicious activity.

reCAPTCHA v2 Enterprise:

This is a more advanced version of reCAPTCHA v2. It offers more sophisticated defenses against bots and provides detailed risk analysis.

reCAPTCHA v3:

This version operates in the background, assessing user interactions with the website and assigning a score that indicates the likelihood of the user being a bot. reCAPTCHA v3 doesn’t interrupt the user’s experience with a challenge.

reCAPTCHA v3 Enterprise:

The enterprise version of reCAPTCHA v3 provides more granular insights into website traffic and allows for more nuanced responses to suspicious activities.

reCAPTCHA in Web Scraping:

Websites often employ reCAPTCHA as a defense mechanism against bots attempting to scrape their data. It presents a significant challenge for web scraping, as traditional scraping techniques are unable to bypass reCAPTCHA.

Solving reCAPTCHA with Capsolver:

Capsolver, a powerful Python library, comes to the rescue by utilizing machine learning algorithms to solve reCAPTCHA challenges. By integrating Capsolver into your web scraping workflow, you can automate the process of solving reCAPTCHA effectively. Here’s how:

⚙️ Prerequisites

• A working proxy (Optional, read both examples, as one require proxy and other don’t require)
• Python installed
• Capsolver API key

🤖 Step 1: Install Necessary Packages

Execute the following commands to install the required packages:

pip install capsolver

👨‍💻 Python Code for bypass reCaptcha v2 with your proxy

Here’s a Python sample script to accomplish the task:

import capsolver

# Consider using environment variables for sensitive information
PROXY = "http://username:password@host:port"
capsolver.api_key = "Your Capsolver API Key"
PAGE_URL = "PAGE_URL"
PAGE_KEY = "PAGE_SITE_KEY"
def solve_recaptcha_v2(url,key):
    solution = capsolver.solve({
        "type": "ReCaptchaV2Task",
        "websiteURL": url,
        "websiteKey":key,
        "proxy": PROXY
    })
    return solution

def main():
    print("Solving reCaptcha v2")
    solution = solve_recaptcha_v2(PAGE_URL, PAGE_KEY)
    print("Solution: ", solution)
if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

👨‍💻 Python Code for bypass reCaptcha v2 without proxy

Here’s a Python sample script to accomplish the task:

import capsolver

# Consider using environment variables for sensitive information
capsolver.api_key = "Your Capsolver API Key"
PAGE_URL = "PAGE_URL"
PAGE_KEY = "PAGE_SITE_KEY"
def solve_recaptcha_v2(url,key):
    solution = capsolver.solve({
        "type": "ReCaptchaV2TaskProxyless",
        "websiteURL": url,
        "websiteKey":key,
    })
    return solution
def main():
    print("Solving reCaptcha v2")
    solution = solve_recaptcha_v2(PAGE_URL, PAGE_KEY)
    print("Solution: ", solution)
if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()