People’s heads have been blown after learning what occurs when they check the “I am not a robot” box on some websites and why we are occasionally told to click on square photos of objects like traffic lights or fire hydrants.

You must be a robot

While it is something we end up doing quite frequently, the majority of us have no understanding of why we are doing it or what it is for other than the routine serves as a safety precaution.

She uttered: “The analysis of your behavior prior to checking the box is what matters, not the fact that you checked the box.

“Since they don’t want people to try to cheat the test, I can’t tell you all the specifics, but in general, when you check the box, the website is prompted to look up your browser history.

So, for instance, if before checking the box you watched a few kitten videos, liked a tweet about Greta Thunberg, and checked your Gmail account before starting work, all of that leads them to believe that you must be a human.

Additionally, checking the box may prompt it to examine how you moved your mouse across the screen. It’s kind quite eerie, in my opinion.

“Essentially, when you are clicking ‘I am not a robot’ button, you are teaching 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 photographs of fire hydrants that aren’t there.”

The video reappeared after Fitzy and Wippa, two Australian radio hosts, talked about it on air and shared it on TikTok, where it received an astounding 3 million likes.

“Had you heard about this? Was the description of the photo, which also included three emojis representing shock.

It turns out that many individuals were unaware, as evidenced by one shocked TikToker who commented: “WHAT????? ”

Is this for real? another person inquired.

”Another person said, “This is the first I’ve heard. After some short research, it looks to be accurate.”

A fifth person added: “Feels like invasion of privacy tbh,” while a fourth person stated their head was “blown.”

Others just expressed their shock, with one asking: “What’s her source? I don’t want to accept this (as true).

The TikTok post clip was later reposted on TikTok, where it was discovered by a brand-new group of social media users.

“Wait,” one remarked. What? Is this actually legal? ”

Someone else said, “So they’re genuinely violating my privacy?”