topic Recapthca in forms in Content Strategy & SEO

Recapthca in forms

SBattuello — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 14:26:20 GMT

Hi,

I have discovered that HubSpot uses Google reCAPTCHA v2 Invisible by default. While it runs in the background without user interaction, we’re finding it’s not very effective against modern spam bots, which often bypass it without issue.

To improve spam protection, we’re looking into implementing Google reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox — the more traditional version that shows the "I'm not a robot" checkbox and challenge images, which typically blocks spam more effectively.

Since this version doesn’t seem to be supported natively in HubSpot, I have a few questions:

Does HubSpot support reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox at all, officially or unofficially?
Is there any recommended way to embed reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox into HubSpot forms — especially without breaking HubSpot's tracking or form handling?

(ALso in this form there is the check box.. so maybe hubspot supports that)

reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox

SBattuello — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 08:55:11 GMT

Hi everyone,

We’ve discovered that HubSpot uses Google reCAPTCHA v2 Invisible by default. While it runs in the background without user interaction, we’re finding it’s not very effective against modern spam bots, which often bypass it without issue.

Since this version doesn’t seem to be supported natively in HubSpot, I have a few questions:

Does HubSpot support reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox at all, officially or unofficially?
Is there any recommended way to embed reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox into HubSpot forms — especially without breaking HubSpot's tracking or form handling?
Has anyone successfully implemented this by:
- Manually embedding the form
- Adding the reCAPTCHA checkbox with custom HTML/JS
- Controlling the form submission to trigger only after CAPTCHA success?

We’re currently testing this method ourselves, but want to make sure we’re not missing an easier or more integrated solution.

And finally, for those who’ve faced ongoing spam issues: what risks or consequences did you run into by leaving only the default Invisible reCAPTCHA in place?

Any guidance, experiences, or HubSpot confirmations would be really helpful!

Thanks in advance,

(ALso in this form there is the check box.. so maybe hubspot supports that)

Re: reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox

DianaGomez — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 07:53:59 GMT

Hi @SBattuello,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community!

This is a great question that I'm sure many in the community can relate to! Battling form spam is a constant challenge, and it sounds like you're exploring some solid solutions.

I'm curious to hear from others: @TomM2, @elizheleva, @danmoyle - Has anyone successfully implemented Google reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox with HubSpot forms? If so, how did you tackle it to ensure tracking and form handling remained intact? Your experiences and any custom methods would be incredibly valuable here.

Thanks for sharing!
Diana

Re: reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox

danmoyle — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 13:18:43 GMT

Thanks @DianaGomez - we haven't had an issue with spam so I'll defer to other Community members. Our forms have been pretty clean.

Re: reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox

TomM2 — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 15:18:12 GMT

Thanks for the tag @DianaGomez

@SBattuello HubSpot provides one option for recaptcha, it's on or off, there's no official way to change the recaptcha version or the method used. Although there are several open feature requests asking for v3.

I've seen some people add in custom recaptchas by using the callbacks included within the forms embed code and custom javascript. I've seen inconsistent success with this though, blocking the form submission and running validation client side is always going to cause issues as it may block of interrupt submissions on the browser. It also may cause conflicts with HubSpot's server side validation.

Realistically the best way to do it is create your own custom form with your own validation and integrate it with your HubSpot forms via the forms api.

That said, I haven't noticed any spike in spam submissions on our or our client's web pages to be honest. It might be worth looking into what traffic source is generating the most spam traffic to see if there maybe needs to be some referral links that can be removed.

If you're on pro or enterprise you can also opt-into the gibberish submissions filter for forms too!

Re: reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox

danmoyle — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 15:51:57 GMT

I thought @TomM2 might have a better answer. 😊