Let’s face it, when a security pop-up on a website asks if we are a robot, we don’t fully understand what happens.
Many people could believe that the “I’m not a robot” button is a tick mark that an actual robot couldn’t see that would clearly indicate to a website that the object in front of the screen is a human person and not an AI claiming to be human.
This is referred to as a CAPTCHA, which stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart.” It is clear that the acronym for this method of identifying robots was intended to sound like “capture.”
However, hitting the “I’m not a robot” button actually accomplishes something entirely different from what many people believed, which is slightly frightening them.
Ticking the small box actually allows the website to check things like your internet browsing history to establish whether you’re a real person or not, as the BBC’s QI once uncovered.
“The purpose is not to tick the box. The behaviour you exhibited before to checking the box is examined, Sandi Toksvig told the panel.
“So, to be honest, I can’t tell you all the details because they keep it secret because they don’t want people trying to cheat the test, but broadly speaking, you tick the box and it prompts the website to check your browsing history.”
“So let us say, for example, before you tick the box you watched a couple of cat videos and you liked a tweet about Greta Thunberg, you checked your Gmail account before you got down to work – all of that makes them think that you must be a human.”
Toksvig continued by saying that the tiny device had additional methods for determining if a person was human or a robot, including a second test that could be used to confirm the identification.
She said: “Checking the box can even spur it to analyse the way in which you moved your mouse across screen. It’s slightly spooky, I think.”
“Essentially, when you are clicking ‘I am not a robot’ box, you are instructing the site to have a look at your data and decide for itself.
“If the machine is not sure, that’s when it directs you to click on lightroom pictures of fire hydrants that aren’t there.”
People who have seen this clip online have expressed some fright after learning what the “I’m not a robot” CAPTCHA actually accomplishes.
One person exclaimed, “Mind blown,” while many others were less than pleased to learn what checking the box actually accomplished.
It “feels like an invasion of privacy,” one person remarked, while another stated they “don’t want to believe this.”
Others expressed surprise that the CAPTCHA was “actually invading my privacy,” and they quickly followed up their outrage with the phrase “bloody hell.”
Now that you’re aware of this, you may move your mouse naturally the next time you have to click a “I’m not a robot” button by adding some links to your browser history that seem to belong to a real person.
PEOPLE HAVE ‘NEW FEAR UNLOCKED’ AFTER REALISING SOME PLANES HAVE SEATS FACING EACH OTHER
Have you ever seen such a thing?!
Ever taken a flight when the seats were facing each other? No thanks, says I on behalf of everyone else who feels the same way.
There aren’t many fantastic things about travelling unless you’re sophisticated enough to score a seat in first class.
Really, the destination is everything; it doesn’t matter if there isn’t enough legroom, the food isn’t good, or there are different sounds and scents coming from the people around you.
The fact that you can typically take some time for yourself for however long you’re in the air is perhaps the single positive aspect about flying.
In the knowledge that no one really has an easy, direct view of you between the rows of seats, you may put in your headphones and watch something on the screen attached to the seat in front of you or simply nibble your way through the trip.
Except when travelling on a plane with seats that face one another.
I’m not referring about a huge, opulent private plane here, but I would certainly make eye contact if it meant riding in one of those plush seats.
I’m referring to a plane with seats that are just as close together as those on a typical plane, but they face one another instead, like they occasionally do on trains or buses.
Although it’s evident that this type of seating arrangement is uncommon, some TikTokers are here to demonstrate that it is possible.
One user, Megan, shared her experience of the face-to-face seats this week, writing: “I’ve never been on a flight like this before…”
Clearly unimpressed with the arrangement, Megan added: “WHY.”
The revelation of the seating plan has left people horrified, with one writing: “I ain’t taking that flight, I already freak out internally sitting next to a stranger.”
Another added: “A new fear unlocked.”
A third person asked Megan which airline she was flying with, purely so they ‘never book with them’.
One user, Megan, shared her experience of the face-to-face seats this week, writing: “I’ve never been on a flight like this before…”
Clearly unimpressed with the arrangement, Megan added: “WHY.”
The revelation of the seating plan has left people horrified, with one writing: “I ain’t taking that flight, I already freak out internally sitting next to a stranger.”
Another added: “A new fear unlocked.”
A third person asked Megan which airline she was flying with, purely so they ‘never book with them’.
She answered by stating that it was a “regional airline in Sweden,” in case you were curious. So if you ever intend to travel by plane in Sweden, you might want to consider checking the seating arrangement first.
Although they admittedly appeared a little pleased to have some people to talk to on the journey, another TikToker recounted their own experience of a face-to-face flight last year.
“First time on a flight with seats facing each other in the first two rows,” they wrote.
I suppose it really depends whether you’re travelling with people you know or not, but let’s be honest, there’s really only so much time you need to spend staring at someone else’s face.
Woman ‘Flabbergasted’ As Plane Passenger Tickles Her Leg With Bare Feet Mid-Flight
Woman Shows ‘Creepy’ Texts She Received From Builder After He Leaves Halfway Through A Job
A tradesman left a project midway through and refused to come back, sending the woman a series of highly sexually suggestive text messages in the process. The woman was left speechless.
Yes, it’s hardly the most professional appearance in the world, especially if you depend on word of mouth and being left on your own in people’s homes to make a living.
You’d have to assume that following this, this man won’t do business with this client or her friends again.
The woman, who had located the plasterer based on a suggestion from someone she knows, had asked him to come to her house to replaster it.
Prior to his abrupt disappearance in the middle of the third day of the job, everything was going smoothly. He simply packed up his belongings and drove away.
This left the woman with some unanswered questions and an incomplete kitchen.
When she finally did, she was unprepared for the much older worker’s response when she asked him what was going on.
The woman shared the texts online and expressed her disbelief and surprise at the responses she received.
On the Girlsmouth Facebook group, she said: “So I hired a plasterer through recommendations… third day in after three hours he just disappeared, no text, no I’m off, nothing.
“I messaged him this morning to end up with this reply.
“I was in that much shock I didn’t respond.
“Any suggestions ladies?
“Silver lining I got half my kitchen done.”
One text from the man reads: “No I’m not coming back.”
He then went on to say that if he came back, he’d want to take her to bed, listing off a number of things he’d like to do once there.
The man then concluded: “So that’s why I’m not coming back cos, I want to do naughty things to you.
“Now if ya up for that then, I’ll come back up.
“Don’t worry about the money, not bothered about that.”
Yikes.
When she shared the post, the woman said that she’d ‘only made him a cup of tea a few times in my fluffy PJs’ and added that the worker was ‘old enough to be [her] dad’.
As you can probably imagine, those who saw her post were equally stunned.
“Wtf bit of a creep needs reporting,” said one person.
“Well, you know from experience he doesn’t finish the job so I’d definitely pass,” wrote another.
“Wow he sounds proper professional and dedicated to his line of work,” a third commented.
Yeah, it’s not a fantastic way to run a business, that’s for sure.
