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reCAPTCHA vs Friendly Captcha: Which Prioritizes Your Data Privacy?

Discover how Germany's Friendly Captcha offers enhanced privacy protections compared to US-based reCAPTCHA. Choose wisely to safeguard your data.

Last updated: February 6, 2026Reviewed by Built in EU Team

Should You Switch to Friendly Captcha?

What You Gain

Full GDPR compliance and no exposure to US Cloud Act.

Privacy advantage
Trade-offs

Potentially fewer advanced features compared to reCAPTCHA.

reCAPTCHA has more features
Bottom Line

Switch if privacy is a priority; consider features if not.

At a Glance

Data Location
🇺🇸US

US data laws

🇩🇪DE

GDPR protected

Pricing

reCAPTCHA

Contact

Friendly Captcha

Contact

Migration
Medium difficulty~2-4 hours

Privacy & Compliance Comparison

Critical data sovereignty factors at a glance

CriteriareCAPTCHAFriendly Captcha
Server Location
US (Google Cloud), EU (optional)EU (Germany)
GDPR Compliance
Partial (SCCs)Full
Open Source
E2E Encryption
OptionalAll plans
Data Portability
LimitedFull export

CLOUD Act Notice

reCAPTCHA is a US company and must comply with CLOUD Act data requests, even for data stored in EU data centers. Friendly Captcha is not subject to US jurisdiction.

Switching from
reCAPTCHA logo

reCAPTCHA

🇺🇸

Google

VS
Switching to
Friendly Captcha logo

Friendly Captcha

🇩🇪

Friendly Captcha

US Data Storage

Data subject to US CLOUD Act and may be accessed by US authorities

EU Data Protection

Data protected under GDPR with EU-only data residency

Certifications & Compliance

No certifications listed

EU-Based
ISO 27001
SOC 2
GDPR Compliant
Open Source
Self-Hostable
EU-hosted

Reasons to Switch

  • GDPR compliance ensures legal safety for EU users.
  • Servers located in Germany enhance data residency assurance.
  • Open source allows for community scrutiny and transparency.
  • E2E encryption protects user data during verification process.

Things to Consider

  • !Migration may require significant development resources.
  • !Limited third-party integrations compared to reCAPTCHA.
  • !Learning curve for developers unfamiliar with new API.
Migration difficulty:
Medium
~2-4 hours

Migration Overview

Full guide
Difficulty
Medium
Time Estimate
~2-4 hours

Depends on data size and complexity

Quick Steps

1

Create Friendly Captcha account and configure settings

2

Export and prepare data from reCAPTCHA

3

Import data, test integrations, and migrate users

Other alternatives to reCAPTCHA

Ready to make the switch?

Start using Friendly Captcha today and take control of your data privacy.