Generating Google reCAPTCHA keys for site security

Google reCAPTCHA helps protect your website from spam and abuse by requiring users to complete a challenge or by scoring requests to detect bots. To integrate reCAPTCHA, you must generate Site Key and Secret Key values from Google.

About Google reCAPTCHA

• Provides anti‑abuse security for websites and applications.

• Requires registering your domain with Google’s reCAPTCHA service.

• Two keys are issued:

  • Site Key (public key) → Used to render the reCAPTCHA widget on your site.
  • Secret Key (private key) → Used for server‑side validation of user responses.

• Keys are unique to each registered domain.

Steps to Generate reCAPTCHA Keys

1. Sign in to your Google account.

2. Go to the Google reCAPTCHA site.

3. Click Get Started.

4. On the Register a new site page, provide:

   • Label → A name to identify the keys.
   • reCAPTCHA type → Choose between challenge (checkbox/image test) or score (v3 invisible).
   • Domains → Enter the domain(s) where the keys will be used (e.g., example.com).

5. Click Submit.

6. Google will generate your Site Key and Secret Key.

Using the Keys

• Site Key → Add to your HTML page where you want the reCAPTCHA widget to appear.
• Secret Key → Store securely on your server; use it to validate user responses via Google’s API.

Note

• Keys must be generated separately for each domain.
• Do not share your Secret Key publicly.
• If you change your domain, you must generate new keys.
• reCAPTCHA improves site security but should be combined with other measures (SSL, firewalls, etc.).