The Hidden Cost of

reCAPTCHAv2

A real-time analysis of the global impact on humanity_

Based on "A Large-Scale Real-World User Study of reCAPTCHAv2" (2023)
Live extrapolation from 100M daily CAPTCHAs

CAPTCHAs Solved

563,036,461,701

(Since 2010)

≈ 2 CAPTCHAs for every star in our galaxy

Human Time Wasted

900,638,403

Hours

≈ 1,370 human lifetimes

Economic Cost

$6,708,051,594.00

USD

≈ 1.2 GDP of Montenegro (~$5.5B)

Bandwidth Consumed

147.4

Petabytes

≈ 20 weeks of Manhattan's internet traffic

Energy Usage

8,247,604

kWh

≈ 1.2 Eiffel Towers for a year

CO₂ Emissions

8,247,604

Pounds

≈ 1,649 round-trip flights NYC-London

📊 Real-Time Analytics

Live visualization of CAPTCHA impact metrics

Primary Metrics

Impact Indicators

Historical Baseline

Live Data Stream Active

Updated every second • Last:

This analysis extrapolates from documented research findings to illustrate the ongoing global impact. Baseline data aggregates 512 billion CAPTCHAs solved between 2010-2023.

Research Source

"Dazed & Confused: A Large-Scale Real-World User Study of reCAPTCHAv2"
Authors: Andrew Searles, Renascence Tarafder Prapty, Gene Tsudik (2023)

Dashboard Design & Development

Jonathan Paz - Interactive dashboard based on arXiv:2311.10911