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Passing a web CAPTCHA soon might require Apple or Google's blessing.

Rachit Agarwal / Digital Trends

The team behind GrapheneOS, a security-focused Android alternative , is calling out Google and Apple for what they describe as anti-competitive behavior dressed up as a security feature.

With the latest Google reCAPTCHA upgrade , if you’re on a Windows PC , Linux machine, or pretty much anything that isn’t a smartphone, you may soon be asked to scan a QR code with your phone to prove you’re human.

Not just any phone, though. It has to be an Apple device or a Google-certified Android device.

Why should you care about this?

Most coverage of this feature treats it as a minor CAPTCHA update. It’s not. What Google is really doing is bringing hardware attestation to the web. That’s a system where your device has to prove to a server that it’s running approved hardware and software.

Apple and Google are gradually expanding their use of hardware-based attestation.…