Google Broke reCAPTCHA for De-Googled Android Users

Google's next-generation reCAPTCHA system now requires Google Play Services version 25.41.30 or higher on Android to complete verification. Users running de-Googled phones (e.g., GrapheneOS or custom ROMs without Play Services) automatically fail the QR-code-based challenge. The dependency was quietly introduced at least seven months ago and is part of Google Cloud Fraud Defense, announced at Cloud Next. Notably, iOS users face no equivalent requirement. Critics argue this is less about security and more about ecosystem control, as it effectively forces Android users to run Google's proprietary software and transmit data to Google's servers just to access websites using reCAPTCHA.