Guide to CAPTCHA in Kademi

The Role of CAPTCHA

As Kademi programs grow, registration forms can become a target for fraud — bad actors using bots to register fake or duplicate entries in order to exploit incentive programs, claim rewards they’re not entitled to, or manipulate program data. CAPTCHA is one tool that can help reduce this risk: Kademi integrates Google reCAPTCHA v3, which assesses registration activity in the background and flags likely automated submissions, without adding friction for genuine participants.

CAPTCHA in Kademi

Kademi uses Google reCAPTCHA v3 to assess activity on registration forms without asking visitors to tick a checkbox or solve an image puzzle. The check runs in the background, and Kademi can adjust the minimum accepted score for individual programs without development work.

This helps you filter potentially automated registrations while keeping the sign-up process straightforward. The main consideration is how strictly to filter submissions: raising the minimum can reject more suspicious activity, but it can also prevent genuine participants from registering.

Here is how the integration works, what your users experience, and which changes are available.

How it works

CAPTCHA helps distinguish automated activity from human interactions. Kademi’s integration uses reCAPTCHA v3, which assesses behavior and returns a score indicating how likely an interaction is to be legitimate.

For a registration form using CAPTCHA, the process has three parts:

1. Your visitor submits the form: Registration details are entered through the normal form, without an additional CAPTCHA question to answer.

2. Google reCAPTCHA assesses the interaction: It returns a score between 0.0 and 1.0. A score closer to 0.0 suggests automated activity; a score closer to 1.0 suggests a human interaction.

3. Kademi compares the score with the configured minimum. Submissions below that minimum are rejected. Meeting the minimum passes the CAPTCHA check, although any other registration requirements still apply.

The minimum accepted score is often called a threshold. Kademi’s default is 0.5, which Google also identifies as a starting point for reCAPTCHA v3. An individual program’s setting may differ if it has been adjusted.

Google supplies the score, while Kademi applies the configured threshold to determine whether the submission passes the check. That distinction explains what a configuration change does: it changes the score required for acceptance.

The score is an assessment of the interaction. It does not verify someone’s identity or establish their right to join your program. A low score can occur during a genuine registration, which is why the threshold needs to be considered alongside its effect on your participants.

What is your users experience

If you are familiar with the reCAPTCHA v2 checkbox, you might expect to see an “I’m not a robot” box, sometimes followed by an image puzzle. Kademi’s v3 integration does not require either step; instead a small reCAPTCHA badge appears in the corner of the page, while the assessment takes place in the background. Your participants complete the registration form without having to stop and answer a CAPTCHA challenge. The absence of a checkbox therefore does not mean the check is missing or inactive.

If a submission falls below the minimum score, Kademi rejects it. The current integration does not then offer a checkbox or puzzle that the visitor can complete to prove they are human.

This matters because genuine participants can receive lower scores than expected, including when using unusual connections, older devices, or corporate networks. A stricter threshold can leave a genuine user unable to register without understanding why, with no interactive CAPTCHA challenge available to resolve the rejection.

When considering an adjustment, account for that experience as well as the suspicious activity you want to reduce. A registration process can be free of visible challenges and still become difficult for legitimate participants if the minimum score is set too high.

What you can change

Kademi can adjust the minimum accepted score per program, without development work. Adjusting this threshold is the only CAPTCHA configuration change currently available without development.

Raising the minimum makes the check stricter. A submission needs a higher score to be accepted, so some interactions that previously passed will be rejected.

For example, a submission scoring 0.6 would pass a minimum of 0.5. If that minimum were raised to 0.7, the same score would fall below the requirement. These figures illustrate how the threshold works; 0.7 is not a recommended setting for every program.

Because the threshold can be configured per program, a concern affecting one program can be discussed in the context of its registration activity. The appropriate setting depends on what you are trying to address and how a change affects genuine participants.

Adding a visible checkbox is a separate request. 

Kademi’s current CAPTCHA integration supports reCAPTCHA v3 only. There is no setting that switches registration forms to the familiar v2 checkbox or adds it as a fallback after a low score. A visible challenge would require development work and would need to be scoped with Kademi.

Before requesting a change, identify the outcome you need. Filtering out more borderline submissions can be discussed through the existing threshold setting. Giving visitors a visible test to complete requires a separate conversation about development and the intended user experience.

Finding the right balance

A higher threshold is stricter, but the number of rejected submissions alone does not tell you whether an adjustment has helped. The aim is to reduce unwanted automated activity while allowing genuine participants to register successfully.

Start by reviewing your program’s current setting and the registration issue you want to address. Useful context includes examples of suspicious activity and any reports from genuine users who have had difficulty registering.

A modest increase, followed by observation of registration outcomes, can help you assess the effect before considering further changes. Look at whether the suspicious activity has reduced and whether legitimate participants are encountering problems. This keeps the discussion grounded in what is happening in your program.

To review your CAPTCHA configuration, speak with the Kademi team about the program concerned and the registration activity you are seeing. 

Kademi can help assess whether an adjustment to the existing minimum is appropriate or whether your requirements call for a separately scoped CAPTCHA experience.