iOS 16 will let you bypass CAPTCHAs on some apps and websites

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

You won't have to deal with as many annoying CAPTCHAs when the newios 16 comes out later this fall. Automatic Verification is an Apple feature that lets some websites know that you are not a bot without you having to do anything.

The system was developed by Apple with the help of Fastly and Cloudflare. It will be possible for sites that use either of the services to defend against spam to take advantage of the system when it launches with Apple's new operating system. If you pay attention to how many sites go down when Fastly or Cloudflare start to have issues, you will know that a lot of the internet may become less annoying.

Image: Apple

This is far from the first attempt to ditch CAPTCHAs, but Apple's scale means we may actually see some progress this time. Apple's system to replace passwords is vaguely similar to the underlying system. Your device looks at a variety of factors to determine if you are a human. If a human is using a website, that site can ask your phone or computer if it's a legitimate website. You will be allowed to go on through if your device says yes.

If you want to learn more about the tech, you can watch Apple's session on it, read Apple Insider's explainer, and check out Fastly's article about it.

Apple has a privacy story to go along with it's new technology. While your Apple ID is being used as proof that you are an actual person, your phone or computer isn't sending out the data that's associated with it. The site only gets a thumbs up from Apple. Apple doesn't get information about who wants to know if you're a human or not.

Apple isn't the only company working on this tech. The concept of having a trusted party vouch that you're a human is being built into internet standards. While it seems like it is focusing mostly on third-party issuers instead of doing verification itself, I think it will make a system like Apple's for its users down the line.