Antispam captcha is not working

[Shmiaks]

• I have searched open and closed issues for duplicates
• I am using Signal-Desktop as provided by the Signal team, not a 3rd-party package.

---

Bug Description

<I had to send a dozen of identical messages to a number of members in my organization. Signal considered it to be a spam-like activity and blocked new messages from coming out (which is fair enough). Then I was asked to go through a verification Captcha check to prove I’m not a bot. Did that like a dozen times already - but nothing happened. I just see the green tick signalling that I passed the captcha check - and I see a link “Open Signal” which I click but nothing happens. As a result, I’m stuck in this limbo for almost a day already, with no visible exit>

Steps to Reproduce

1. send an identical text messages to 10 different Signal users who you've never communicated to before
2. a popup with appear that prompts you to verify you're a real user. push Continue button
3. signalcaptchas.org site is opened. tick the checkbox and pass the captcha check twice.

Actual Result:

Despite the green tick, nothing happens and nothing changes in terms of the ability to send new messages to new users

Expected Result:

I expect that after successfully passing the captcha check I must be able to send messages as usual

Platform Info

Signal Version: 6.20.0

Operating System: Windows 10 Home

Linked Device Version: moto g60 (XT2135-2), Android 12

Link to Debug Log

https://debuglogs.org/desktop/6.20.0/30120b951a53b07cc4fe47dfc58a3840d2111cb1d91f93fba6996ebec320b096.gz

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

What is your browser? What happens if you click the 'Add To Signal' button on a sticker pack on https://signalstickers.com? https://signalstickers.com/pack/62bc8d141733d3309c8a2e1707b1f56a

I ask because that has a similar mechanism, where it tries to open your Signal Desktop from a web page. If that doesn't work on the first try, what if you restart Signal Desktop and try again? What happens if you restart both Desktop and your browser?

[Shmiaks]

What is your browser? What happens if you click the 'Add To Signal' button on a sticker pack on https://signalstickers.com? https://signalstickers.com/pack/62bc8d141733d3309c8a2e1707b1f56a

I ask because that has a similar mechanism, where it tries to open your Signal Desktop from a web page. If that doesn't work on the first try, what if you restart Signal Desktop and try again? What happens if you restart both Desktop and your browser?

thanks for reaching out. Chrome version: 113.0.5672.127

I've managed to addded a stickerpack successfully, no problem at all.

And I restarted both Signal and laptop a couple of times already before.

Btw, the same stuff with captcha is observed on my Android phone that is connected to the desktop Signal app.

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

Seeing the captcha in the first place is expected on your Desktop and Android. But the fact that the link doesn't take you back to Desktop - that's the problem we're trying to diagnose. It's surprising that opening Desktop via your browser works for stickers, but doesn't work for captchas.

What's supposed to happen is that, once the captchas are complete, Desktop opens again with a 'Verification successful' toast. You might consider going to https://signal.org/download and installing the latest version of Desktop on top of what you have installed now.

[Shmiaks]

Seeing the captcha in the first place is expected on your Desktop and Android. But the fact that the link doesn't take you back to Desktop - that's the problem we're trying to diagnose. It's surprising that opening Desktop via your browser works for stickers, but doesn't work for captchas.

What's supposed to happen is that, once the captchas are complete, Desktop opens again with a 'Verification successful' toast. You might consider going to https://signal.org/download and installing the latest version of Desktop on top of what you have installed now.

Thank you, it's also what I'm expecting but it's not like that in real life. Installed the newest Desktop Signal - nothing changed. Same messages are paused, same popup, same Captcha that doesn't do anything.

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

@Shmiaks Please reach out to support https://support.signal.org. They can lead you through the steps to repair your browser install.

[Shmiaks]

@scottnonnenberg-signal I did like three days ago. They returned with a bunch of questions, I answered them, and I haven't heard from them ever since((

[mlowdi]

I am having the same issue for possibly all computers in our organization. The signalcaptcha:// protocol links don't open, but sgnl:// works fine. Our setup is latest stable Chrome and Edge, running on W11 22H2 Enterprise.

I've confirmed that you can in fact verify by completing the challenge, copying the confirmation link and then opening a terminal and invoking Signal.exe <captcha link>.

I've filed a ticket with Signal Support and I'm awaiting their input. This might be a browser or system issue, but not I know too little about how custom protocols work to diagnose it.

[Shmiaks]

Thanks for the tips! didn't work for me though(( the link didn't work in both versions - as signalcaptcha and sgnl.

'Signal.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

Any ideas what it might be?

[mlowdi]

You need to cd into the directory where the Signal binary is, or invoke it with the full path (e.g. .%localappdata%\Programs\signal-desktop\Signal.exe)

[Shmiaks]

You need to cd into the directory where the Signal binary is, or invoke it with the full path (e.g. .%localappdata%\Programs\signal-desktop\Signal.exe)

Thanks! I'm still going in circles. The command just launches Signal again with that annoying popup, and I'm back in Square 1.

[mlowdi]

@scottnonnenberg-signal After running some experiments, I've figured out that it's the length of the captcha link that's the culprit. A full captcha response is about 3477 characters. But anything over 2030 characters will not open Signal Desktop through the protocol handler!

This is easy to reproduce with an HTML document:

<p>
    <a href="signalcaptcha://AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA">
        2030 characters, works as expected
    </a>
</p>
<p>
    <a href="signalcaptcha://AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA">
        2031 characters, will not open Signal
    </a>
</p>
<p>
    <a href="signalcaptcha://signal-hcaptcha.5fad97ac-7d06-4e44-b18a-b950b20148ff.challenge.P1_eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.hKdwYXNza2V5xQmOUmf93kySqvLyjqonHPiM1FFIOA-5toYSrzf0nTEHqqYgan8WTLS1OYizvzVsPxceFEfD7MlDAfPnhxPuAYxsgC9NJdQ5i3hysKpETdpNI8ZuR0XJJ4KOIysMUP2HPivuM2sVyrvAy-yvXHC18_otTgLaIxrXsaPUJnmJVCkarjyy9h9Fvp_yHneCHy31kxUfmoDQMgjHTTRHNL3bA2rl7zrooRT-E4o952_KSPmssEzNX1w6zdmRxzD_Xoa-GSmzN2iWjxMmGOEt7Pk2ZgbZLNXjh3aLdfCQ1PzSk_v60YNrzpCINRtvjuIu_6fVV4nwgOndEShyiPE7pXfGuLCcA9tpo9tZqGUoSoH2Brdv80BNUHXzMqj2PMl40gzVmXHpLzWw8ZgSTuLGjVz6q49UlgLvPZKKlzBn7IleiSG93Uhnz9TVof_w9lSu5kBji8nTRE-JyQ-vja5OrWRGTiooKDxXI8P-2o6s9Bqva_q6n-6LSpBM2b8-ECQKgH-8r6yEtxo3E7AJUrQ0V4LGP_jIknYAQZigsuVX8Q5nY9KerSc5kibJfpe1z191SB8zvUXcapln54lfqNwFeAyjQNdvx7JPU3ddbTHXO2Fby89qrif951l8XmDvizAzCFKk2rJ_yF1xZWghguXg5u3MXwwxuYsJugyyQ679rbWJl8AlcPHxrU1gW0dyHYk0EOWD81_26kLz_FxuC9G7pQlfCmORiSjhkPXrMC26uxC8QO84Un3X3Kc4vKAUP5xmJ0_Q0NasguQhsnIaxydUU9xqBdL9vlh5r3VfMSxb7_IrUkb3V2phiG34zoC2kRBrAvBEH6waRZtpM09HYAXTwI7vyO9WI9NuJSjZcvTfnAeiSsB8PGxPV5AWNP6fWLcHCrklbCJ4GL9Ryy_5yI4_gJTRPkwNhqxS9AgGqS9MD2vu4yaQk6s_CGe4yN-ppYRc3Hp4pjgUC5cfwHJYwQEhft8p-9h7iCbeG1_bV0zOmC9IuVFCZN-7Csivaura51tsMq22AsBGzKTJzg6dJMAvexga-by6FhTUIcyVC9KRwBgdMc89IYzqh55logSNXYt0iKVuMUOS2xfuD3jK6caEGLWtNxCkZagShxa735Q_A_i_fM0DwQcD331__3EfZqUyqdwc8M_MhvHhV7MAM5i92tlDUsKrPFs-iD9IH7HOShicJrob-kGAm98fv7Aqgj2KRhMdL-mW2hufZFo6fXQjDHqC_9pL3snRQIxIOBRhkfuAtt_onWItrdY1VLD2ESrltwxQrkayOUfZbTV0W5qh71iokEoCYAXtBdvi7uOFzy1uytZJHD9jymSdV8TkVJjy2niZSsJE4lcIgvX1rE9TiNdsckCgCRc5KRrlCw0Oz8dCSbunqqqC33H3Zd9_d2wMiTjM_ejWMyYFe-df4WlKNUK-6Wjlq-uak3M6-8W0zBT94BV-FMcAGCrxmzaJ2K2xo_4iwGl6HlV0wRrj3aFZrIHsN99x5s1QbqVBsIinXLmkgO_aT0huEZqiqc5U6nnquP3VAcTHKZ4RNEstFs8Is6t1MCXewVcMeoP32panutjeILPY62IO6UNkOqWjHIHMqxjgum2LYFo4KNvBBFvYQuepkeZQREn2O-rNdVk9wjFBwIMOaU6wzLrz4V5VmzrPX7T8wTsG23EDddtCoHzFMExfS2PGyGEgqHB-ZaJddYGtj3hWORoJGJAM-cwiPfDN4ZsW8KkHJ27TAgJ1E9WHI679wojoYLu4PseF9lgb8NNSNyMNwUnHG8mqf-rOZe92hgdJsECryCg_9FaRZh010d0mqykAYTl2VRgN_H_JVa3_pU-lnbUVQDH8YyK-jYyAx1FhEZaohC0jtc8DfpD49UTx7mw18BchI1o5frfPFNli1MpUQRKVbe19n0j-ehNRzLgXc0vqMfbmeHZ720AzfL7FRefvlCyK4d2MCFVSSnABJHQQWw5VauSmWnYUTQmsnIHAvUUr0XtTxKODEj2DDOefZ010m1xX3QFCTUfnA0GA0vk2rn7CbDdSlh0zem_weORy9a2XsFW43XxmpP5KMscU-pcA19B6s28Nn7IOvSC7ZtzNVAxEODIW3DA_HWTojcot5EH2HoGEvA_VF6wTMFVwZXBwkiiIijgi35KD1cDinK1hC9BXRvoKowN07pNCNPAIj47mgFpQi88Ljl4ccJ-wzd-Hg-q-pI2e0nE5Wz1x7wjvKxGSvFlvXDeEyoi8JBBUyIBM8rLAYeaZyb9pLDvcxwTnwt1LWJSKLhH23igUYTqQm5BCcIvE6mHG3wgb9wGcJefRuMj35m8FJ8RXNqrhz--V_w9FdNiAhzteDGKrJVC6ucTkzcgI82ZsAX2FtvA49aBrilbNKDRhHJEtpHql8Ca97AWtl99s_SL3OpT9F5kJFxhe7I2ohWLbYWgtG9K2XO0qUOE2wRJRFKrf3PaBlmEWwuOSWc-gacNrTn9GEGZtu0D6slF5C65Y8pK_ybcJXE0FOARk8_DO8yEO8wgkt_xx_rQi-3JPEfPpeOz_cLcqrrxIw_yZjJBEjinT_o7sMAK_jX3p9MgAy0YtJEG-21jpSIvtO4rMzFOlNZMIZm_Wuh_3WsZeGXEdQC1PlYmFu1rwkrNRcdkkZXVxvrw9Nvgy8p8hkeY0P8YHO5HOUE2S4fFu1FEj7tyExkZodJQZHaWCdxO_sY9tDCKHTlIUmH8zWfhF5KfKMIDf4_14Wbh5y8XPoJdOKIx7thUHHPos-6t5Bh_nIz38CeZbPCFGYEARJz-R_zAAX2nb03Aeo6vKCAPv1VkG20rv6aClaLD6uUjpj4HNJ220j13jikzxPjNn35AU2znD0FrBHG9z3Ot7U8f651kuC-bKV0xMwRquIwJ7RA6CKacD-ydEk2FqrJRgsMcpQFVDerSGWCn2AOWrIv_SRMS6XQL3Yfa7RzGQbv2O1bWqZn-RtkcpBmBL4rBFE-kcG51YnINMwEenSbP-JkL7T0jzI0vsBmlG_XSWyxRU2TNmUEwicqxrsoiRl4O0TN1K1_TcHHaB3IfmKuhDAuw7kGrBITMUWcgxAhAt-Jko8m4xhlaTOyfy1ewoSKaGzY2-LO_3aCi5vLUzmi3PdjzA63GQwjVfelPAdR9U94yQjxoKma8cP9Tk_SW29jolRoRHHdTymQ8PBjFkvUUBYu-PRhbOGjaZHaHgktpCTbLx88AWOvn5JF2Ttm3M6zrUURQvTVbrkD1gpLAzudMRe-g-FL1IqvFHyVQJnQqe5KNleHDOZIbYmahzaGFyZF9pZM4UPIQfonBkAA.iZl_SoLA1dbo63gV7SanWwYBy4JdTi2yP_hHZM3x1rk">
        Full captcha response, will not open Signal
    </a>
</p>

[Shmiaks]

mlowdi

that's a great finding, thanks a lot. I wonder if either Signal or Captcha provider will ever react on that.

btw, a couple of days ago the link worked well for me - I assume that's because that exact link was within the character limit.

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

@mlowdi Thanks for that sleuthing; we'll definitely take a look!

[mlowdi]

From some further testing I've determined the HTML example works if you run it in Firefox - it seems like the limitation is in Chrome/Edge. We thus have a couple of workarounds: you can invoke Signal.exe from a terminal with the captcha link as an argument, or use Firefox to complete the challenge.

[Ingablu]

The same story. Captcha link in Chrome don't open Signal. There is no problem with adding a sticker pack. Opening link in FireFox or Opera doesn't work.
I am getting tired of Signal lately. So many updates and less and less operating system on which is working. It used to be great secure and simple communicator :) Those days has gone.

I was able to verify using your "mlodiwi" solution in terminal but I needed 3 times to run that command. Strange.

[Shmiaks]

Interesting... Firefox workaround is 100% effective for me. I start the verification flow at whatever browser, then copy the link from the Open Signal button and paste it in the URL field in Firefox. Rock-solid method for passing the check.

[ndeet]

Same here with Brave on Ubuntu (KDE) installed over Flatpak. Makes the app unusable and is annoying, can't you instead do a QR scan like on MacOS? Or fix it on the captcha side to not exceed the char limit that seems to exist on Chromium based browsers which are 95%(?) market share.

Edit: copying the link into Firefox works, thanks @mlowdi

[Oli-Ross]

Having the same issue with Signal 6.30.2 on Arch Linux using Mullvad Browser, copying to Firefox works as well.

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

@ndeet @Oli-Ross Are you seeing this problem when trying to open a sticker pack link? Or is it specific to captcha? I'm surprised that Brave or Mullvad would have link length problems.

[ndeet]

@scottnonnenberg-signal not sure what you mean do you have an example. The examples in the docs like this https://signal.art/addstickers/#pack_id=d5ee1e14b0ad81a8e63d036b4db7e378&pack_key=ef1ec526c05a480d7e2cc93e681255feb48a826b48d8fafcb32f53b6ca27fda7 work for me.

[Oli-Ross]

Oh, now that you mention it, Mullvad doesn't work for stickers either (Firefox does), so in my case it might have to do with how my OS handles the links.

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

@ndeet If sticker URLs like what you provided open in Signal Desktop, the captcha problems are likely a link length problem. We're working on it. For now, you can use the workaround listed here: #6455 (comment)

@Oli-Ross Seems like you have a general problem with custom URL handler registration. Is this a known issue with Mullvad browser?

[markum]

I am using Signal on KDE Neon (Ubuntu based). The proposed solutions for solving the captcha do not work for me. When using the command line to insert the captcha, the Signal Desktop app aborts because it is the second instance running. If I end the Signal Desktop app before starting it, I am asked for solving the captcha on the moment of starting the app.

[trevor-signal]

@markum can you share a debug log after you attempt to trigger the captcha via this method? What you're describing about the second instance closing is expected behavior (and should still allow the captcha to be resolved).

[seonwoolee]

I had this issue as well on Linux with Firefox 122.0.1 and Signal Desktop 6.46.0. I could verify the captcha and click the "open signal" link but that didn't do anything. I had to launch Signal with the link, i.e. signal-desktop signalcaptcha://signal-hcaptcha......

[dzenifr]

This is happening again with the most recent update today. I click to verify, it opens in my browser, I verify and get the green check, it opens Signal Desktop, it still says I need to verify - continue loop.

Brave v 1.62.165 Chromium: 121.0.6167.184
Signal Desktop 7.2.1

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

@dzenifr I'm sorry that's happening to you! If you provide a debug log View -> Debug Log we can take a closer look.

[dzenifr]

@scottnonnenberg-signal debuglog.txt

[steel-steven-87]

I have the same issue on Signal 7.4.0 running on Linux. When I solve the captcha, the link doesn't redirect to Signal app. I have tried it on both Firefox and Brave.

Is there any solution to this? I cannot use the desktop application to send any messages.

[studiok87]

Same problem here, Linux Mint and Firefox, it redirects to Signal from browser after captcha but one action/click in Signal and the captcha-demand pops up again. Copying the link in another browser or other suggested solutions don't work.
See #6803 - Debug sent.

So...Signal on Linux: not working, Signal on Windows: not recommended because you can't choose install-folder (encrypted partition...no one wants to trust BitLocker...), Signal on Android: broken encrypted backups and 7.1.3 does not find contacts anymore if there's no conversation yet, you have to go the way with Android Contacts-->choose Contact--->Signal message...yay!

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

@steel-steven-87 @studiok87 The easiest way to test Browser -> Signal Desktop connectivity is to use sticker pack links - if you click the pack, it should open a popup in Desktop that allows you to install it: https://signalstickers.org/

With that easier mechanism for testing, can you test after trying a few things?

• Shut down Signal Desktop then start up again
• Shut down browsers and start up again
• Try a different browser, like Chrome
• Fully restart your computer

Do any of these work? We've definitely seen situations where that link can be broken, but is repaired when Signal is restarted.

[studiok87]

Stickerpacks work fine with Firefox, even if Signal is closed. Restart and reboot has no effect, with Firefox I can redo captchas all day long, with Gnome I get the popup in Signal: "verification failed. please try again later"

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

@studiok87 Ah, if you are indeed seeing stuff happen in Desktop after doing the captcha in your browser, then the link between the browser and SIgnal Desktop intact. And if that's the case, then it might just be that you need to change your messaging habits slightly so our spam protections don't kick in!

[Shmiaks]

@scottnonnenberg-signal I don't have any problems with captcha popping up every now and then. I do text people too much at times, so fair enough. BUT! The very point of captcha is to check that I am human, and let me go on after it's been passed. Now I pass captcha, Signal green-ticks me, but nothing changes afterwards. Why do captcha then?

The other thing is to be more transparent about spam protection rules. What exactly am I violating here? Is it too much messages per hour? Do I reach a number of identical messages to different recipients? Is it Friday 13th? I've been struggling with this issue since June 2023 (I've started this thread after all), and I don't see any consistency from Signal's side here. Surely something can be improved here to manage users' expectations better

[studiok87]

Changing my messaging habits is difficult when I didn't message at all... I open Signal Desktop and have the captcha popping up. Then I solve it, Browser redirects me to Signal Desktop and the Captcha dialogue pops up again after a second or two. Did you get the debug I've sent?

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

@studiok87 How did you send your debug log? To [email protected]?

@Shmiaks I'm sorry that you're continuing to have a hard time. Are you seeing the same behavior on your desktop and phone? That could be something we investigate. Unfortunately we can't be any more transparent than we already are about our spam-protection techniques.

[studiok87]

@scottnonnenberg-signal yes and I'm sending you the Bug Report for 13333 and 12743 in about a minute.

[steel-steven-87]

@steel-steven-87 @studiok87 The easiest way to test Browser -> Signal Desktop connectivity is to use sticker pack links - if you click the pack, it should open a popup in Desktop that allows you to install it: https://signalstickers.org/

With that easier mechanism for testing, can you test after trying a few things?

* Shut down Signal Desktop then start up again

* Shut down browsers and start up again

* Try a different browser, like Chrome

* Fully restart your computer

Do any of these work? We've definitely seen situations where that link can be broken, but is repaired when Signal is restarted.

The captcha issue has been resolved after a reboot.

The stickers still do not work when launched from Firefox.

Brave and Edge browsers work though.

[czhang03]

I have a slightly different behavior. I am using librewolf (flatpak) and signal (flatpak). The link was able to go back to signal, but either there is no effect or there will be a "verification failed" popup in the lower left corner.

I was able to install sticker packs just fine from librewolf, restart does not fix this issue.

One interesting behavior I have noticed is that if keep doing the verification, the challenge will always be the same. Whereas if I paste the CAPTCHA url as a launch argument in the terminal flatpak run org.signal.Signal <captcha>, it will also fail to verify, but the challenge will change.

Here is my debug log: debuglog.txt

[DrNI]

I'm having a similar issue on Linux. I use Brave as browser and Signal Desktop installed via snap.

Brave does the funny captcha thing, then asks to open something using Signal to complete the procedure, but this step apparently fails. In the end I get an DNS failure page for the following URL: signalcaptcha://signal-hcaptcha.XXXX (where XXXX is a very very long hash something code).

Workaround that did it for me: Open the initial captcha page by copy-pasting the URL in Firefox before entering the procedure. Firefox then opens Signal correctly to complete after I have done the captcha game successfully. Signal then accepts that I am something that can recognize fried eggs, pardon… that I am human.

[indutny-signal]

@DrNI oof, this sounds frustrating. Sorry you ran into it!

What distribution of Linux do you use?

[DrNI]

Kubuntu 18.04 still. I think my issue is that Brave doesn't know how to handle the signalcaptcha:// thing, while Firefox does. I'm inclined to say that this is not much an issue of the distribution.

[DiagonalArg]

with Gnome I get the popup in Signal: "verification failed. please try again later"

@studiok87 / This is a different problem. See here:
#6785

[DiagonalArg]

I'm having the same issue. ubuntu 22.04, Signal Desktop 7.16.0, Brave Version 1.68.128 Chromium: 127.0.6533.73 (Official Build) (64-bit)

Copying the link after completing the capture, and moving to LibreWolf acts as a work-around.

I'm with @Ingablu . All I want is to text and make calls. All the added junk is unnecessary. I think the problem is that when people are hired, they start "imporving" things. If it aint broke ...

[xeruf]

Also, why not just add an alternative verification via text message or the like? Browser-back-and-forth shenanigans is brittle.
Also having this issue on Manjaro Sway with Firefox, pasting the link on the cli did not help.

Edit: I think after a second paste it seemed to work.