science & tech3 min(s) read
People blown away after finding out what clicking 'I am not a robot' actually does
Whether we're trying to log into an email account or do some online shopping, we've all thoughtlessly clicked on the innocent looking 'I am not a robot' button.
While almost every internet user is familiar with clicking all the squares containing crosswalks or typing out a wiggly code, very few of them actually know what the 'I am not a robot' button does.
So when a clip from the TV show QI resurfaced on TikTok explaining the tick box's mysterious function, it was unsurprising that many people were shocked - and that many more of them weren't happy.
In the 2020 episode of the UK panel show, host Sandi Toksvig informed guests that ticking the box actually invited a website to inspect your internet history.
"Ticking the box is not the point. It's how you behaved before you ticked the box that is analyzed," Sandi explained.
She continued: "Broadly speaking, you tick the box and it prompts the website to check your browsing history. So let us say, for example, before you tick the box you watched a couple of cat videos and you liked a tweet about Greta Thunberg, you checked your Gmail account before you got down to work – all of that makes them think that you must be a human."
"Checking the box can even spur it to analyze the way in which you moved your mouse across screen," Sandi added, saying: "It's slightly spooky."
The clip was shared on TikTok by Aussie radio hosts Fitzy and Wippa. They included their astonished responses in the video, which has racked up over 5 million views.
"I had no idea," one said, while the other replied: "This really disappoints me."
People in the comments section were no less shocked by the knowledge.
"That feels illegal," one commented. Another wrote: "WHAT?????"
"You mean I got to also delete my browser history before clicking I'm not a robot," a third person added. A fourth chimed in: "What's her source?? (I don't want to believe this)."