iOS 16 features a new auto-verify feature that automatically verifies a user’s device and Apple ID account in a private manner via iCloud, bypassing CAPTCHA prompts. The feature is designed to eliminate the act of proving that a user is a real person and not a robot by clicking on an image of a red light, for example.
According to MacRumors, automatic authentication is limited to sites and applications that support private access tokens, but adoption of the feature should receive a big boost from Cloudflare, which announced today that it will offer a free API called Turnstile for any site that wants to eliminate CAPTCHAs – even if it’s not a Cloudflare customer. – Even if the site is not a Cloudflare customer.
Cloudflare explained in a blog post how this technology works.
"Private access tokens are built directly into Turnstile. While Turnstile must look at some session data (such as headers, user agents, and browser characteristics) to authenticate users, private access tokens allow us to minimize data collection by asking Apple to authenticate the device for us. In addition, Turnstile never looks for cookies (such as login cookies) or uses cookies to collect or store any type of information."
Starting today, Turnstile is available for Beta testing via the Cloudflare dashboard or registration form.
Auto-verify is enabled by default on iPhones running iOS 16 and can be found under Settings – Apple ID – Passwords and Security – Auto-verify. Apple says the feature is also supported on iPadOS 16.1 and macOS Ventura, which are still in Beta testing and will be released in October.
