# Google reCAPTCHA Integration

### ✅ What You Need Before You Start

To enable Google reCAPTCHA, you need:

* A **Google account**
* A **Site Key**
* A **Secret Key**

You can create these for free in Google reCAPTCHA Admin Console.

***

### 📝Step 1: Create Your reCAPTCHA Keys in Google

1. Visit the Google reCAPTCHA admin page: <https://www.google.com/recaptcha/admin>
2. Click **+ Create**
3. Enter your website name

<figure><img src="https://3488889492-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FEGgRVSDpMlcGFz1igK0s%2Fuploads%2F7hM4Ghr0Nr2cRpCUNIcU%2F2026-01-14_15-28-58.png?alt=media&#x26;token=ca798829-de66-45ca-b67d-acc0864b65e9" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

4. When registering a new website, the form will open and you need to fill in all the details correctly then submit the form.

For example: I want to register recaptcha v2

* **Label**: Enter a name to identify your site (e.g., "My Shopify Store") as you want
* **reCAPTCHA Type**: Select **reCAPTCHA v2** and choose **"I'm not a robot" Checkbox**.
* **Domains**: Input your domain name. For example:

Store URL: `abcstore.myshopify.com`\
Custom domain: `mycoolbrand.com`

On reCAPTCHA setup, enter: `mycoolbrand.com`

<figure><img src="https://3488889492-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FEGgRVSDpMlcGFz1igK0s%2Fuploads%2FTkystxPapf7nSyyPDaxv%2F2025-05-02_16-27-21.png?alt=media&#x26;token=c79c2f68-033d-4794-b73c-c5da1f749fa4" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

5. Click **Submit** button and the site key and secret key shows up

***

### 📝 **Step 2 - Add Google reCaptcha to app Settings**

1 Open the app > click **Settings** >**Third party integration** > hover **Google reCaptcha** > click **Config**

<figure><img src="https://3488889492-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FEGgRVSDpMlcGFz1igK0s%2Fuploads%2FD7fJAZbKKZ4KToxnt04A%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=2a34b710-4a6f-4b4e-bea0-972127a9c2f3" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

2\. On **reCaptcha type** dropdown > select reCaptcha type: **v2** or **v3**&#x20;

3\. Enter **Site key** and **Secret key** you get in **step 1** above

<figure><img src="https://3488889492-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FEGgRVSDpMlcGFz1igK0s%2Fuploads%2F1ENd12mCKyUG9wbi5Oko%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=4932037a-9843-4ece-be2e-792001055401" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

4\. Select language of the reCaptcha on front store

5\. Click **Save** and save the app **Settings**

***

### 📝 Steps 3: Enable **Google reCaptcha** on the form

1\. Open the app > click **Forms** > open the form you want to edit

2\. Click **Integration** icon on the left side > enable **Google reCaptcha**

3\. Click **Save** to update the changes

<figure><img src="https://3488889492-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FEGgRVSDpMlcGFz1igK0s%2Fuploads%2FTSnO9x6HCvcFGGUHC2gj%2F2026-01-30_14-12-56.png?alt=media&#x26;token=34deef4f-b099-45d7-a65a-3b111743a48e" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

***

### 🛡️ How It Works

Google reCAPTCHA helps protect your form from bots and spam submissions. Powerful Form Builder supports **reCAPTCHA v2** and **reCAPTCHA v3**, and each works differently.

<figure><img src="https://3488889492-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FEGgRVSDpMlcGFz1igK0s%2Fuploads%2F6vol5fuymsDzgEHJNlTi%2F2026-01-14_15-32-28.png?alt=media&#x26;token=d12b1acf-dc69-47f5-81c4-85343271c6d5" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### reCAPTCHA v2 — “I’m not a robot” Checkbox

**How it works:**

* Your form displays a small **“I’m not a robot”** checkbox.
* When a user clicks it, Google analyzes their behavior:
  * mouse movement
  * click pattern
  * browsing history (anonymized)
* If Google is confident the user is human → the checkbox is enough.
* If Google is unsure → it may show a small image challenge (e.g., *“Select all traffic lights”*).

**What the user sees:**

✔ A simple checkbox\
✔ Sometimes an image test\
✔ Clear confirmation when verified

**Best for:**\
Forms with high traffic or potential spam, stores wanting visible verification.

#### reCAPTCHA v3 — Invisible Background Scoring

*(Google has begun limiting support for new v3 keys. Some users may only be able to create v2 keys.)*

**How it works (simple explanation):**

* There is no checkbox and no challenge.
* Google silently monitors user behavior in the background.
* It assigns a **score from 0.0 to 1.0**:
  * **1.0 = very likely human**
  * **0.0 = very likely a bot**
* The app uses this score to decide whether to allow or block the submission.

**What the user sees:**

✔ Nothing (fully invisible)\
✔ No clicking\
✔ No challenge screens

**Best for:**\
Stores wanting **zero friction** for customers and fewer visible checks.

***

#### 💡 **Quick Comparison**

| Feature                   | reCAPTCHA v2                  | reCAPTCHA v3                           |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| Visible to users          | ✔ Yes                         | ✖ No                                   |
| User interaction required | Checkbox / Image test         | None                                   |
| Bot detection method      | Click behavior + challenge    | Behavior scoring                       |
| Best for                  | General forms, high spam risk | Customer-facing forms where UX matters |

***

### 🔧 Troubleshooting

#### 1- reCAPTCHA is not appearing on the form

To make sure the data is updated on the form, please try&#x20;

* go to the app > open the form > save the form again
* refresh the page on the online store&#x20;

See if the recaptcha show on up on the page/form now.

#### **2. “Invalid key type” or “Key mismatch” error**

This happens when:

* You generated **reCAPTCHA v3** keys but selected **v2**
* Your keys are for the wrong domain
* Keys were copied with extra spaces

Fix: Recreate the keys in Google and paste them again.

#### 3- ERROR for site owner: Invalid key type in the app preview

As you can see in the screenshot, you may see a red notification in captcha box: ERROR for site owner: Invalid domain for site key.

There is no need to worry about this because it is the preview which will be displayed properly in the front-end store  as it works with your store domain.

You might want to display captcha box properly in the preview area, please add one more domain: **form.globosoftware.net** or **dxo9oalx9qc1s.cloudfront.net** to the Recaptcha configuration.

<figure><img src="https://3488889492-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FEGgRVSDpMlcGFz1igK0s%2Fuploads%2F6fRC2tKdt2hnP0Kfq9jG%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=190efa39-ee7e-41d9-90bd-417bef95cc5f" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### 3- recaptcha box does not show correctly on the form on the online store

Please check your recaptcha config and make sure the store domain is added.&#x20;

* For example:

Store URL: `abcstore.myshopify.com`\
Custom domain: `mycoolbrand.com`

On reCAPTCHA setup, enter: `mycoolbrand.com`&#x20;

<figure><img src="https://3488889492-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FEGgRVSDpMlcGFz1igK0s%2Fuploads%2F7fmi49WjOq2ePID8UKwi%2F2025-05-02_16-27-21.png?alt=media&#x26;token=e92fcde7-23d6-4d4b-a7b8-024320310d92" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

***

#### Need More Help?

If you still need assistance, please contact us at [**support@powerfulform.com**](mailto:support@powerfulform.com). Our team will be happy to help you resolve any issues or guide you further.