CAPTCHA 4WP changelog

Updated26 March, 2024

This is the plugin’s changelog, which is mainly a detailed list of all the plugin changes and bug fixes introduced in every version update. Refer to the plugin release notes for a high level overview of what is new and improved with every plugin version update.

7.5.0.1 (2024-03-26) – Premium only

Improvements

Adjusted the UI of the new Geoblocking settings to cater for overlapping in smaller resolutions.
Improved the text in the Geoblocking settings for better readability.

Bug fixes

Fixed: “Please solve CAPTCHA” error still showing when form is successfully submitted on CF7 and when using V3 + V2 reCAPTCHA.
Fixed: Unable to submit form when using reCAPTCHA v3 on legacy starter plan.

7.5.0 (2024-03-19)

New features

Geoblocking for website forms: Block submission of forms or comments based on countries.
Geoblocking for WordPress comments: Block comments, send comments to spam, mark comments for moderation based on the country of origin.

Plugin improvements

The “Settings & Placements” page has been redesigned for a more spacious and visually pleasing appearance.
Additional wizard configuration steps have been implemented to allow users to easily activate captcha when setting up the plugin.
Applied enhanced labeling and terminology throughout the plugin, also addressing some grammar issues.
Internal links within the plugin have been adjusted, including updates to URLs directing users to the new pricing page.
Introduced an option to enable Signup form protection on multisite installations.
Notices for site administrators in multisite networks have been improved for clarity.
Updated the minimum required PHP version for the plugin from 7.2 to 7.4 to ensure compatibility with current standards.

Bug fixes

Resolved an edge case issue preventing login to sites using the WooCommerce login form.
Corrected a minor CSS problem with the V2 Invisible method, preventing the captcha logo from appearing within the login form container.
Fixed an edge case scenario where users could become stuck within the configuration wizard.
Fixed a crash that could occur when the plugin was installed on site with PHP 7.2 or lower.

7.4.1 (2024-02-01)

Plugin improvements

Improved the readability of some UI text and help text.
Updated the spacing / text positioning in the UI to improve UX.
Ugpraded the Freemius SDK to 2.6.2.
Added support for the new plans and prices.

7.4.0 (2023-12-20)

New features

Added Support for Ninja Forms.
Added Support for Fluent Forms.
Added Support for Formidable Forms.
Added Support for Everest Forms.
reCAPTCHA V2 checkbox, CloudFlare Turnstile and hCaptcha can now disable a forms submit button until CAPTCHA is validated.
Added new setting to control submissions if no CAPTCHA value/field is found.

Improvements

Improved help text and prompts for better user experience when setting up the plugin.
* Cloudflare Turnstile languages are now supported.
* V3 + V2 Fallback – V2 Checkbox now adheres to size/styling settings.

Bug fixes

Fixed issue where CAPTCHA checkbox would not appear on v3 failure with BuddyPress v3 to V2 fallback.
Fixed an edge case issue which could cause comments to be submitted without CAPTCHA validation on BuddyPress + v2 Checkbox.
Fixed issue where Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA box exceeds width of WP Core forms.
Fixed issue in reCAPTCHA v3 + v2 Fallback caused by missing jetpack_sso var.
Fixed logic issue in Whitelisting URLs which would cause whilelisting to fail if visitor uses the whitelisted URL + an argument (e.g. domain.com/page?argument=value was being ignored).
Fixed issue where successful registration would not be forward to the confirmation page correctly when using reCAPTCHA v2 with Buddyboss.
Fixed issue where multiple captcha failed messages may appear on failed submission whe using V3 to V2 fallback on WPForms.
Fixed PHP 8.2 Error within certain multisite registration forms.
Fixed CSS issue which can partially hide the checkbox when using WPForms and reCAPTCHA v2.
Fixed logic issue when switching between Premium and Free editions.
Fixed issue which would cause ‘sent’ message to be hidden when using reCAPTCHA v2 on Contact Form 7.

7.3.1 (2023-08-14)

Improvements

Improved help text and prompts for better user experience when setting up the plugin.

Bug fixes

Fixed fatal error related to a non-static method when using a custom login form.
Fixed PHP warning when updating the plugin due to and SDK location update.

7.3.0 (2023-08-10)

New features

Added support for hCaptcha (Always Challenge) service
Added support for Cloudflare Turnstile service
Setting to purge the plugin’s database files on plugin uninstall

Improvements

Improved licensing and activation mechanism on Multisite networks – admin is now able to choose to enable CAPTCHA at network lever or on individual subsites.
Adding further help text for 3rd party form plugins and the new captcha providers.
Improved help text and settings messages within admin pages & wizards.
Improved wizard UI/UX and added logic to validate better site keys and secret keys used in captcha configurations.
Improved build infrastructure by refactoring code to a more modular approach.

Bug fixes

V3: Fixed a JS error which can prevent users from submitting a payment while checking out on WooCommerce.
V3 + BuddyPress – Fixed a JS problem which was sometime preventing users form adding new groups.
V3: fixed an error which was preventing users from logging in on the Checkout page (WooCoommerce).
V3 – V2 failback – Fixed an error that was causing captcha challenge to not prompt for users trying to log in via the Checkout page (woocommerce).
V3 – V2 failback – Fixed an error that was preventing users from adding a new group (Buddypress).
V3 – V2 failback – Fixed an error that was preventing the captcha challenge from showing up when there was a false positive (Buddypress registration form).
V3 – V2 failback – Fixed an error that was preventing users from posting new comments or replies (Buddypress Comments form).
V2 Invisible – Fixed an error that was preventing users from posting new comments and replies (Buddypress Comments form).
V2 Checkbox – Fixed a JS error that was causing the users to be able to comment without solving the captcha challenge (Buddypress Comments form).
Fixed some edge case problems with the licensing system when the license was disconnected and reconnected from the plugin.
Fixed a problem with a plugin setting which was causing Users and Roles not to be properly excluded from captcha.
V3 – V2 failback – Fixed some JS errors which were preventing users from paying using Paypal and Stripe payment gateways.
Contact Form 7: V3 – V2 failback – Fixed a small error that was preventing the CF7’s form confirmation message from being hidden right away after submit.
Fixed an error that could have caused a PHP fatal error when admin had settings enabled related to failed logins.
V3 – V2 failback – Fixed an error that was preventing users from registering to the website via the WooComemrce form.
V2 Invisible – Fixed an error that was preventing users from placing an order if the captcha position was “Above Checkout button”.
V2 Invisible – Fixed a JS error that could prevent users from creating new Buddypress groups.
V2 – V2 Failback – Adjusted CSS for WordPress core forms in order to prevent the captcha box from getting out of frame.
Fixed an edge case when the user was unable to log in if the captcha configuration was removed from the site.
Fixed an edge case where a license expired notice message was showing when the captcha version was changed/reconfigured.
Fixed some JS errors which were preventing V2 Invisible configurations from being set up in the wizard.
Fixed some PHP errors which could trigger a fatal error once user downloads the system information file.
Fixed the position of the third-party forms “how to” paragraphs in the Settings and Placements page.
Fixed various JS errors which were preventing user from removing captcha configurations.
Fixed WordPress notice in the previous version on the Plugins page – “Notice: Fix: error in PHP version 7.4”.
Fixed an edge case when installing Gravity Forms along with Captcha 4WP could cause a PHP error.

7.2.3 (2023-07-05)

Improvements

Improved UX for IP input field in Settings & Placements
Improved UX for failed login settings
Improved input validation for IPs and numerical fields.

Other improvements

Updated Freemius SDK to the latest version (addressing a security issue).

7.2.2 (2023-06-06)

Improvements

Adding further help text for 3rd party form plugins.
Improved help text and settings messages within admin pages & wizards.
Improved UX when settings are disabled.

Bug fixes

V3: Fixed JS error causing issues with password reset attempts.
System information can now be downloaded in the help area.

7.2.1 (2023-05-11)

New features & functionality

Added check for ‘path’ during check for REST request which returns false if no path is found and can be overriden via filter ‘c4wp_is_rest_request_no_path_found’

Bug fixes

Jetpack + V3: Fixed issue causing CAPTCHA to return false when logging in.
PHP 7.2 Compatibility: Fixed small PHP errors within settings when running PHP 7.2.
General PHP improvements: Fixed error caused by method not declared as static.

7.2.0 (2023-04-27)

release notes: https://melapress.com/wordpress-captcha/releases/

New features & functionality

CAPTCHA failure fallback system: V3 now has a fallback option when the initial check fails: choose between redirecting to another page or show a V2 “I am not a robot checkbox”.
First time install wizard to guide users through setting up the Google reCAPTCHA etc.
Google reCAPTCHA configuration shown in the UI / plugin settings.
Changing of existing reCAPTCHA configuration is now all done via wizard.
Google reCAPTCHA keys validation – all keys are validated within the admin area to ensure the correct details have been provided
New WPML config file for WPML support (translations).
Support for WooCommerce HPOS so user can activate the feature without hinderance.

Improvements

WooCommerce support – improved overall form handling to ensure less friction with 3rd party scripts.
In WPForms editor the plugin\’s message is shown in the correct place when editing posts via Gutenberg.
V2 Checkbox – The field now resets itself should it expire due to lack to user input.
Improved performance and compatibility of custom JS in BuddyPress.
Updated Freemius SDK to v2.5.6.
Core JS is now written in plain Javascript for Improved performance and compatibility.
Overall coding standards improvements
UI Improvements to the ‘excluded IP’ and ‘excluded users’ fields in the plugin settings.
Improved plugin\’s help and UI text for improved ease of use.
Moved the Captcha preview within the configuration popup in the plugin settings.
Removed any use of depreciated JS function ‘jQuery.fn.load’.

Bug fixes

CF7 + V2 Invisible – Fixed issue causing mail sent confirmation to be removed on submission.
BuddyPress + V3 – Fixed issue causing user registration for to return console errors
WPForms + V3 – Fixed issue causing ‘please solve captcha’ message to still appear on valid submissions.
Improved compatibility with WP comment systems which do not use jQuery.
Multisite – Removed link to settings page where needed.
Fixed bug in Settings which would cause removed IP address and users to re-appear on refresh.
Fixed issue in ‘hide for IP’ setting which can occur when multiple IDs are present.

7.1.1 (2022-08-18)

New features

Site & secret key validation: plugin displays preview of CAPTCHA to confirm correct setup.
Users are now prompted when attempting to switch CAPTCHA versions to ensure new keys are provided (UX improvement).

Improvements

Contact Form 7 AJAX validation is now handled independently to avoid compatibility issues.
Improved handling of CAPTCHA JS within the WooCommerce checkout for better compatibility.
Improved presentation of ‘hide CAPTCHA badge’ field within the settings.
Updated Fremius SDK to version 2.4.5.

Bug fixes

Corrected issue in which some trial users were not being shown all features.
Adjusted internal ‘additional callback JS’ filter to append all content rather than override.

7.1.0 (2022-06-29)

Release notes: Support for WPForms & Gravity Forms plugins

New features:

Added support for Gravity Forms.
Added support for WPForms.
New setting to show the CAPTCHA logo on the lower left rather than the default, right.

Security fix:

Local File Inclusion reported by WPScan.

Improvements:

Improved JS handling within the WooCommerce checkout to ensure a more robust field during checkout changes.
Improved settings inline help text.
The action ‘c4wp_captcha_form_field’ is now exclusive to premium edition.
Ensure applicable settings only accessible based on the current license.
Support for
shortcode is now exclusive to the premium edition.
Streamlined plugin’s internal build process.
Improved Coding Standards throughout plugin.

Bug fixes:

Fixed logic issue which could cause an error during new user registration.
Ensure only specific internal files can be loaded within the help area.
Ensure applicable functions return first argument where needed.

7.0.6.1 (2022-03-15)

Improvements

Ensure migration script to new options table is run where needed.
Ensure correct default language is set during update in free edition.
Ensure verification does not hinder hook requests where no CAPTCHA is posted.

7.0.6 (2022-03-15)

New features & functionality

A new setting that allows you to enable CAPTCHA on WooCommerce logins whilst disabling it on the checkout login form.

Improvements

Update logic to ensure whitelisted IP addresses action only runs when needed.
Ensure plugin does not attempt to verify if submission contains to captcha field.
Updated Contact Form 7 “embeddable” form tag to include response field.
Updated branding within the Freemius admin areas.
Improved the CAPTCHA placement within the WooCommerce “password reset” page.
Overall admin UI improvements, including responsive styling.
Improved BuddyPress JS support for better compatibility.
Improved overall JS to ensure functions are defined when used.
Improved WooCommerce extension logic to ensure code only runs when functions are available.
Improved inline help text, including warning for users of JetPack comments regarding incompatibility.
Improved logic within whitelisting to ensure accurate results.

Bug fixes

Updated v2 invisible form submission JS for wider compatibility.
Updated features logic to ensure extensions are always loaded based on license.
Fix logic to ensure “login_captcha_filter” return accurate response.
Reinstated original “anr_nocaptcha” Contact Form 7 form tag (backward compatibility).
Corrected Mailchimp 4 WP form tag from [c4wp_captcha] to
.
Ensure CAPTCHA language has the correct default in new installations.
Fixed error which caused “please solve CAPTCHA” message to appear on the “lost password” form.
Fixed redirection during installation on a network to ensure plugin takes user to correct admin area.
Fixed login within WooCommerce checkout which could cause CAPTCHA to always be hidden for logged in users.
Corrected typo within BBPress extension.
Ensure previous anr_nocaptcha Contact Form 7 code is validated.
Fix JS bug which could cause comments to not POST with v2 invisible captcha.

7.0.3 (2022-01-21)

Improvements

Improved logic to determine if a login verification should be “skipped” depending on POSTed values.

Bug fixes

Fixed: Re-implemented support for original CF7 form tag.
Fixed: Fixed issue which could cause login CAPTCHA\’s to not display.
Fixed: Fixed issue related to null variable in CF7 extension.

7.0.2 (2022-01-19)

Bug fixes

Fixed: Ensure plugin does not interfere with unwanted “authenticate” calls.
Fixed: Use of private “construct” within CF7 extension.

7.0.1 (2022-01-19)

Bug fixes

Fixed: PHP 7.2 Compatibility issue.

7.0.0 (2022-01-19)

Release notes: Plugin reload: Advanced noCaptcha & invisible Captcha is now CAPTCHA 4WP

New features

Plugin renamed to CAPTCHA 4WP.
New UI with improved UX.
A setting to choose where to place the CAPTCHA check on the WooCommerce checkout page.
Added the option to exclude CAPTCHA from specific URLs.
Auto detect visitor language and auto-configure the CAPTCHA test language to match the visitor\’s language setting.
Plugin can now be activated at multisite network level or at individual child-sites level.

Improvements

Plugin now has its own dedicated top level menu entry for configuration.
Replaced the plugin prefix to c4wp (both internally and for shortcodes).
Updated a number of translatable strings.
Added a specific upgrade script to handle upgrades from pre v7.0.
Fixed support for PHP v7.2.
Removed the Freemius SDK from free edition.
Added a dedicated help and support area with downloadable \”system info\” for easier troubleshooting (in case support need it).
Added compatibility support for Wordfence 2FA.
Ensure failed logins filter only runs when appropriate.
Added ability to detect and ignore REST API requests.
Failed login data is now stored in its own table with configurable pruning.
Separated WooCommerce form logic to allow registration and login forms to be enabled/disabled independently from the WordPress built-in forms.
Third party plugins extensions are now handled via separate classes for modularity.
Better sanitisation when saving admin options.
Removed obsolete \”NoJS\” setting.
Improved v2 Checkbox field positioning on WP login page.
Added support for Buddypress comments and activity areas.

Bug fixes

Fixed: plugin \”blocking\” admin request to send a “reset password” email via a user\’s profile page.
Fixed: CAPTCHA not appearing on WordPress “lost password” form.
Removed obsolete code related to “FEP” forms.

6.1.7 (2021-10-06)

IMPROVEMENT: Updated all the FAQs and help text links to point to the new documentation pages.
IMPROVEMENT: Improved the help text for CAPTCHA v3 to better explain the severity scoring system.
IMPROVEMENT: Ensure CAPTCHA is not loaded when a page is viewed via Wthe P customizer/Widget view (introduced in WP 5.8)
IMPROVEMENT: Better support for PHP8
FIX: Updated the CF7 field to ensure error messages are shown correctly when validation fails.
FIX: Stopped CAPTCHA from being enforced on reset links, which causes sending of reset links via admin to fail.
FIX: Admin notice dismissal is improved to avoid load “blank” tabs.
FIX: Updated how form submission is handled during validation to improve compatibility (CAPTCHA V2).
FIX: Fixed issue with CAPTCHA always failing validation on password reset screen (CAPTCHA V2).
FIX: Fixed issue with CAPTCHA validation failing on WooCommerce checkout.

6.1.6 (2021-09-07)

UPDATE: Announcing new developer + future updates.

6.1.5

FIX: error in php version 7.4

6.1.4

Use tab navigation for settings. Remove extra menu items from admin sidebar.
Link to documentation on How to get google reCAPTCHA keys.
Increase footer hook priority as some theme add login/register form with higher priority.

6.1.3

recaptcha.net domain added.
Error message now can be translated in file.

6.1.2

Add Contact form 7 integration instruction page link in settings page of this plugin.

6.1.1

Re-captcha domain can now be changed from settings.
footer script hook priority changed.
use same settings if network activated.
for cf7, use this plugins captcha instead of cf7 captcha.

5.7.1

Minor bug fixed.

5.7

IP whitelist feature added.
Captcha V3 timeout issue fixed.
UM login issue fixed.

5.6

Return last verify incase of duplicate checking.
Add google scripts src filters.
Custom hook and captcha short-code now support logged in setup.

5.5

Fix: Multisite site signup during registration failed due to double verification.
Fix: Comment reply failed from back-end.

5.4

Use js for loop instead of php for loop
Use number_formate_i18n to translate float
Tested up to updated.

5.3

Fix: Compatibility issue with reCaptcha v3 and CF7 version 5.1 & 5.1.1

5.2

Now support reCaptcha v3 also
Fix: invisible captcha sometimes was not working
anr_verify_captcha filter added

4.4

PRO version released
anr_verify_captcha_pre filter added
anr_get_option filter added

4.3

Reset captcha if CF7 validation error occur
Changed Tested up to

4.2

BuddyPress mentioned in readme
WooCommerce checkout captcha sometimes did not verify
Reset captcha if WooCommerce checkout error occur
If WordPress version is 4.9.0 or greater then pre_comment_approved filter used for comment which we can now return WP_Error

4.1

Settings page redesigned.
anr_is_form_enabled function added
Captcha error show first before username password error. So if captcha is not validated then username password error is not shown.
enqueue login css only if normal captcha is shown
Enabled forms stored as an array in db. array key is enabled_forms
Add class ANR_Settings, removed class anr_admin_class
BuddyPress register captcha added

3.1

Sometimes fatal error if is_admin return true in front-end.
Do not show captcha in checkout if not checked for checkout.

2.8

Now show captcha when use wp_login_form() function to create login form.

2.7

Fix: Settings page checkbox uncheck was not working.

2.6

New: Show captcha after set failed login attempts (may not work if you use ajax based login form, fall back to show always).
Fix: contact form 7 deprecated function use.

2.5

New: Invisible captcha feature added.
Fix: Show captcha error when login form loaded
Move this plugin settings page under Settings

2.4

Bug fix: WooCommerce lostpassword corrupted link

2.3

Comment form captcha issue fixed.
Captcha now wrapped in anr_captcha_field div class.
Comment form captcha p tag removed.

2.2

Security update.
WooCommerce checkout form issue fixed.

2.1

Captcha in WooCommerce added (WooCommerce Login, Registration, Lost password, Reset password forms).
Allow multiple captcha in same page.
Text domain changed.
Some minor bug fixed.

1.3

New filter ‘anr_same_settings_for_all_sites’ added, Now same settings can be used for all sites in Multisite.
Multisite User Signup Form added.
Some bug fixed.

1.2

Now captcha size can be changed.
bbPress New topic added
bbPress reply to topic added
XMLRPC_REQUEST Check
Some bug fixed.

1.1

Initial release.