MySpace Lets Users Opt Out of Annoying Captcha Codes

In a long-awaited move from MySpace, Tom Anderson, president and co-founder of MySpace, announced on his blog that users can verify their computers and opt out of seeing those annoying Captcha codes.

The announcement can be found at http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=6221&blogID=480984292 .

In order to verify your computer, you must have access to a cell phone, as a verification code will be sent as a text message. The phone isn't linked to your MySpace account, so if you don't have a cell phone, you can use someone else's phone. If you have multiple MySpace profiles, you can use the same phone number more than once.

For now, this Captcha bypass is only available to users in the United States. According to the blog, MySpace will let users in other countries access this option in the near future.

Captchas were implemented on MySpace back in 2007, back when automatic friend adders and comment scripts left profiles riddled with spam and unwanted friend requests. Last year, MySpace changed internal Captcha settings, so that users sending out multiple friend requests were required to enter Captchas after so many requests, even if the current user had his or her Captcha settings turned off. This moved crippled automatic friend adders such as Friend Blaster Pro and effectively controlled spam. While friend adder software still worked, someone would need to be present to enter these randomized Captcha codes, which kind of defeated the purpose of an automated system.

This change cut down on unwanted profile comments and inbox spam; however, it made life more difficult for everyday users who used MySpace frequently. Adding insult to injury, once the MySpace application games such as Mobsters became popular, Captchas were required after sending out approximately fifty game invites, which completely ruined the entire concept of the game (in the developers' eyes anyway). After the daily limit was reached, the user would have to enter a Captcha for each subsequent invite.

MySpace applications and games are a big money maker for the site, and the apps developers, so I knew that limiting invites would begin crippling their income. The first time I ran into this cyber blockade, I knew it was the beginning of the end for Captchas.

While money is always a main motivator, I can't help but think about how Facebook as overtaken MySpace as far as daily visitors and popularity, and wonder if Captchas were one of the main reasons people started leaving MySpace for Facebook. After all, Facebook profiles are boring compared to MySpace 1.0 profiles, and for me anyway, it's easier to find my friends on MySpace.

Hopefully, this validation option will help keep spammers away, and make MySpace a fun place to visit once again.