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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, 2026โ€ขReviewed 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
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธUS

US data laws

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ชDE

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

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

Google

VS
Switching to
Friendly Captcha logo

Friendly Captcha

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช

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

  • โœ“GDPR compliance ensures legal safety for EU users.
  • โœ“Servers located in Germany enhance data residency assurance.
  • โœ“Open source allows for community scrutiny and transparency.
  • โœ“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.