Google's reCAPTCHA, originally designed to distinguish humans from bots and digitize text, has become a data collection and tracking tool, generating substantial revenue. By 2025, it primarily monitors users' online behavior rather than providing effective bot protection. Research indicates it has wasted 819 million hours of human time, costing society $6.1 billion, while enabling Google to profit from user data. Users cannot avoid reCAPTCHA if they want to access the Internet.