Since today suddenly I am asked to solve hCaptchas when opening Signal. It has become unusable, since I am stuck in these hCaptchas. Whenever I open it up or want to send something, it asks me to verify. It is an endless loop and sending of messages is stopped (“Nachrichtenzustellung pausiert”).
Why does this show up and how to stop this?
Currently the update to /e/OS to 4.1.1 is running (Fairphone 3).
Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/OS the deGoogled mobile OS and online services
Which concrete Signal version?
Signal version 8.19.2
Reading about captcha, any privacy implemented on your device can make it suspicious (VPN, blocking cookies etc.).
Someone on reddit put a suggestion which I have not verified but you never know…:
“Those “I’m not a robot” Captcha boxes track whether you are a robot or not by the path of your cursor. If you go straight to the verification box, it will think you are a robot and trigger the “click the pictures with x in them” scenario. To avoid that, move your mouse across the screen randomly, but across a wide area. I’ve done this with every Captcha I’ve encountered and it works every time.”
I get those sometimes on different websites and hate it with captcha looping.
My Molly is also 8.19.2 but I’ve never seen a captcha in it. Should there be any difference?
In what situations do these captchas come? Do you use stories? (I don’t.)
I have never seen captcha in Signal Private Messenger, I am also running 8.19.2. Maybe make a post in signal forum and see what they say. But for now proceed with caution as that is not normal at all.
I have got Captcha too while trying to reinstall Signal after 4.1.1 update. Numerous attempts, phone number verification works sometimes, often verification code doesn’t come ever. Signal backups not working. Have been trying several old ones, the ones tuhat worked well before and with passphrase I have used before. Starting to lose it. Luckily I exported json files…
Do either of you two @nrw117 @mok run the desktop version of Signal? There is a thread about it over Signal forum. Here is link:
Hi! Thank you Jets! I downloaded from App Lounge. Unfortunately I don’t have desktop version. I contacted Signal help, someone came back soon, saying they want to help, but when I explained situation, they haven’t got back.
this is what they told me in the Signal forum:
“Signal will sometimes ask for a CAPTCHA, but I think it is related to connections from IP addresses that have been flagged for spam, not due to custom ROMs.”
So did you have VPN on or hide IP in advanced privacy?
I did not have VPN on or hide IP…
I think I leave this here, I have been trying to get things working for a week now. 4.1.1 upgrade says official but feels like beta. Could be that Gigaset GS290 have so few users that it don’t get the enough share of develpmement resources available. Or the hardware is too far behind, or what ever. I was thinking of Fairphone6 with /e/OS, because of promised 8yrs support. But maybe that might be over positive having same hardware that long. I am using 12 yrs old laptop with LMDE every day (excluding graphic & audio work) without headache. Maybe PC-world level of hardware standards will never reach mobile devices. But for now, I have other things to do… Thank you for your help though! 
Actually, I found out, that this behavior may be related to only one contact. If I ignore the verification requests and tip with my finger on the background the request disappears and apparently I can send messages to all other people.
There is one contact to which no message gets through although she told me that Signal is installed. I have send to her a test message twice, but they can not be delivered. It seems that the requests to verify with hCaptcha against spam and the notes that messaging has paused have to do with these 2 test messages and repeated delivery failures. Though I am surprised that hCaptcha is involved. Before she used only WhatsApp.
Is it possible to stop sending the test messages=?
Sorry,
for sending a message twice.
To answer to the questions above:
I downloaded Signal via Aurora from Google Play Store.
I also use Signal-Desktop, but this version was not affected.
This is what I have found out so far:
The whole problem started with inviting some people into a chat group. To one contact that was already stored I have send a test message twice to see whether it works. The problem originated from these two test messages. The warnings that messaging has been suspended, were related to this one contact only. All other people did receive my messages, though with pestering rCaptcha requests with each move, that were not related to the current action. After having locally deleted the two test messages, rCaptcha requests stopped. I don’t know, whether the mobile phone of the person is infected by something or on a spam list. She is an old lady and I don’t think that she has got technical knowledge.
Also for sure, my IP address was blurred.
@nrw117 I think you are on to something, it can have to do with contacts, here is a response I got at signal forum:
"I’m on GrapheneOS and didn’t see more “fill the captcha” requests than on stock Android. As Herothar said, you can expect captchas if you connect from IPs associated with spammers (some VPN servers spammers might’ve used before).
Or, I occasionally had multiple captcha requests if someone added a spammer by mistake to the group I’ve been a member of and said spammer tried to add me to some spam groups, and I rejected invite/blocked//reported spammer. But it was some bug in Signal’s anti-spam mechanism, I think, because I’m not punished with captchas for being spammed anymore."
Hi mok,
i’m using my Gigaset GS290 more than 5 years now.
Signal installed from guardian project repo inside F-droid.
Actually running version 8.20.5.
I never did have such problems as you have described.
And, there are enough development resources,as you can see, to lift this phone from A12 to A15!
