HumanCaptcha by Outerbridge
by Outerbridge · Uncategorized
Also makes 2 other plugins · 1.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
HumanCaptcha is a Captcha that uses questions that require human logic to answer them to the WordPress login form, comments form and registration form …
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 46/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
200+
≈280 estimated
Momentum
-23%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “captcha”, “human” and “logic” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.5%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 13.2K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,782 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 5+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.8.19.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 1894 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.8.19; the current branch is 7.1
4.3★ over 16 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.1★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 1894 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| captcha your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| human your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| logic your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| questions your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| text based your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “captcha”, “human” and “logic” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 166 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 1 Nov 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 92% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 6 months ago and the previous band took 2.4 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 300.
Install history since 25 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ lyncee3.2y ago
Une excellente et simple extension de captcha au plan de l’accessibilité pour les aveugles tant en visiteurs qu’en administrateur ! J’en étais vraiment ravi jusqu’à ce que récemment, je me suis aperçus d’une faille de sécurité majeure dans la page “santé du ste” de WordPress : Une session PHP a été créée par un appel de fonction session_start(). Cela interfère avec l’API REST et les requêtes de boucle (loopback). La session devrait être fermée par session_write_close() avant d’effectuer toute requête HTTP. La désactivation de toutes extensions de mon site pour les réactiver une à une ont imparablement diagnostiqué Human Captcha comme responable de cette faiblesse.Je comprends fort bien la réponse du développeur joint par courriel,qui m’indique être trop occupé par des activités rémunératrices pour s’en occuper, sauf si j’accepte de financer ce développement. Moi, quand je suis trop occuper, ce n’est pas un financement qui pourra m’occuper moins !J”espère que les 400 utilisateurs de l’extension que nous sommes n’auront pas à en pâtir !
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sachsongngu3.9y ago
I have tried google recaptcha but somehow my site was still being spam until I change to this human captcha, no more spam user, comment….etc….all gone. Thank you very much for this great plugin and its author. PS: I used this plugin over 4 years. After a long time using and now I come back to review. ))) This topic was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by sachsongngu.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ terokankaanpera5.1y ago
Extremely simple and effective plug-in to cut ALL spam comments. This is just what I wanted: simple questions in the language my content is to block bots from forms on my site. Had a bit of teething trouble when I took it up, the language has characters it didn’t support correctly in combination with numbers but in the end the developer resolved this very fast. Could do with a little more features but KISS.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ WPOso6.6y ago
Three thumbs up for ease of installation, plus a another thumb up for creativity. I installed this plugin on three sites that cater to people who like to think, so being able to customize questions that are a little thought-provoking is a real treat. So far, everything seems to be working OK. David W. Blomstrom
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ rileyadamvoth9.9y ago
So I really wanted to like this plugin. It does what it’s supposed to do and does it well. I like the simple options to control where it appears as well as make my own captcha questions. However, The settings for this plugin appear under the Plugins menu item in the admin rather than the typical Settings menu where most would appear. This is extremely abnormal and easy to forget. Worse though, it made it completely unusable for me since I run a multisite network that hides the Plugins menu item in the admin areas. It makes it impossible to reach this plugins settings. So, can’t use it because of this unusual functionality.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ devra11.1y ago
Easy to install and set up. The is a better captcha for a low vision person, because they don’t have to try to interpret a fuzzy image with numbers or letters. Great captcha for people using screen readers.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dtommy7911.4y ago
The best Q&A captcha on the web.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ rseigel11.8y ago
Doesn’t work with comments. Complete garbage. Uninstalled. I should bill the idiot that made this for my time.
Read on wp.org ↗
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 1 language, 1 at 90% or more · development strings
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
2 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,078 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "text-based" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-05 300+ → 200+ down after 863 days in tier
- 2023-12-24 400+ → 300+ down after 71 days in tier
- 2023-10-14 300+ → 400+ up after 31 days in tier
- 2023-09-13 400+ → 300+ down after 219 days in tier
- 2023-02-06 500+ → 400+ down after 430 days in tier
- 2021-12-03 600+ → 500+ down after 224 days in tier
- 2021-04-23 900+ → 600+ down after 526 days in tier
- 2019-11-14 600+ → 900+ up
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for HumanCaptcha by Outerbridge into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/humancaptcha" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="HumanCaptcha by Outerbridge — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> HumanCaptcha by Outerbridge: 200+ active installs, 4.3★ (16 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/humancaptcha
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