# Adding CAPTCHA protection to a Magento site

> Protect your Magento admin login and customer forms from bots by turning on the built-in CAPTCHA or Google reCAPTCHA.

Source: https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/apps/magento/adding-captcha-protection-to-a-magento-site/

CAPTCHA protection helps secure your Magento store by reducing spam and blocking automated bots. Both **Magento 1.9** and **Magento 2** support CAPTCHA for the administration login page, and Magento 2 also supports Google reCAPTCHA for customer‑facing forms.

## Enabling Native CAPTCHA in Magento

### Magento 2

1. Log in to Magento as the **administrator**.
2. Go to **Stores → Configuration → Advanced → Admin → CAPTCHA**.
3. Configure the following options:

   - **Enable CAPTCHA** → Yes
   - **Font** → Choose a font style for CAPTCHA text
   - **Forms** → Select where CAPTCHA should appear (Admin Login, Forgot Password, etc.)
   - **Number of Symbols** → Set length of CAPTCHA code
   - **Timeout (minutes)** → Define how long CAPTCHA remains valid
4. Save configuration.

### Magento 1.9

1. Log in to Magento as the **administrator**.
2. Navigate to **System → Configuration → Advanced → Admin → CAPTCHA**.
3. Enable CAPTCHA and configure the same options as above.
4. Save configuration.

✅ CAPTCHA will now appear on the selected forms.

## Adding Google reCAPTCHA (Magento 2)

For enhanced protection, Magento 2 supports **Google reCAPTCHA v2 and v3**:

1. Install the official **Magento reCAPTCHA module** (available in Magento Marketplace).
2. Go to **Stores → Configuration → Security → Google reCAPTCHA**.
3. Enter your **Site Key** and **Secret Key** from the Google reCAPTCHA Admin Console.
4. Select which forms to protect (Login, Registration, Contact, Checkout).
5. Save configuration.

## Important Notes

- CAPTCHA is disabled by default in Magento—**you must enable it manually**.
- Google reCAPTCHA v3 is less intrusive (no user clicks) but requires careful tuning to avoid false positives.
- Always test CAPTCHA on a staging site before enabling it on production.
- If CAPTCHA fails to display, check theme compatibility or clear Magento cache.