_GRECAPTCHA — Google reCAPTCHA
By the OpenCookies team · published 2026-10-22 · updated 2026-10-22
- Service
- Google reCAPTCHA
- Category
- Strictly necessary
- Default duration
- 6 months
- Type
- Third-party cookie (set by another domain)
- Consent required?
- Often classed as a security cookie. But Google processes data for its own purposes: the legal basis depends on configuration. Confirm with your adviser.
What is it for?
Cookie of the reCAPTCHA anti-bot service: it helps tell a human visitor from a bot on forms.
What does it look like?
The value is a long opaque string, written on the google.com domain.
How to see it in your browser
Open your site, press F12, then choose the “Application” tab (Chrome, Edge) or “Storage” (Firefox). This cookie is written by another domain: look for it under “Cookies”, under the service’s domain. If you cannot see it, your browser may be blocking third-party cookies.
What does the rule say?
Often classed as a security cookie. But Google processes data for its own purposes: the legal basis depends on configuration. Confirm with your adviser.
How to prevent it before the choice
Load reCAPTCHA only on pages with a form, not site-wide, or choose a cookie-free anti-spam solution.
How OpenCookies handles it
OpenCookies does not block this cookie: it is needed for operation. The test still lets you see which cookies are set before any choice.
Check it on my site
Does this cookie appear on your site before the visitor chooses? The OpenCookies test shows it in two minutes.
Related cookies
Frequently asked questions
Must it be declared?
Yes, in the cookie policy, with its purpose (form security).
Is there a cookie-free alternative?
Yes: cookie-free anti-spam solutions (honeypot fields, rate limiting, custom challenges).
Durations are defaults and may change with configuration. This page describes a cookie; it is not legal advice.