Why do I need a "maximum bid"? Why am I receiving a "no idle workers available" error? Where do I set my bid?
The maximum bid that you set in your API Setting helps you get into the task queue when our system can’t process all the tasks at once. Maximum bid only helps you get your captcha into the queue. It is not responsible for captcha solving speed, quality, or anything else.
Maximum bids kick in when all our workers are busy with customers’ captchas when adding new tasks without limit would lead to a significant increase of captcha solving time. This is what we call 100% load.
Conversely, when the load is lower than 95%, you are charged for each task at the default price, which is $0.7 per 1000 for image captchas and $2 for Recaptchas. During this time, maximum bids affect nothing.
How does the bidding algorithm work?
In short:
When the number of new tasks starts to get higher than the number of workers online, we start accepting new tasks only if bids are slightly higher than the average task bid. Then, when workers finish all the tasks and switch to waiting mode, we start accepting all new tasks at the default price.
Thus, the algorithm:
1. Attempts to process the maximum amount of tasks by setting the minimum possible bid.
2. Attempts to give every worker one task to work on with a new task joining the queue as the worker is about to finish the first one.
3. Prevents scenarios with overloaded queues where tasks take forever to solve.
Results of this behavior:
1. Our service will never cost you more than the value you set in your maximum bid settings.
2. This bid does not mean you will always be charged that maximum price. When there are more workers than tasks, you'll be charged the default queue price or receive a discount if applicable.
3. If at any time you start getting ERROR_NO_SLOT_AVAILABLE errors, it means there are not enough workers online, and you either have to wait till they process all their tasks OR increase your maximum bid to get higher priority for your tasks.
Important note
1. You can't set a minimum bid below the price of the type of captchas you're trying to solve. For example, Recaptchas cost $2 per 1000 and you've set your bid to $1. Once you send a task, your maximum bid will automatically be increased to $2.
Maximum bids kick in when all our workers are busy with customers’ captchas when adding new tasks without limit would lead to a significant increase of captcha solving time. This is what we call 100% load.
Conversely, when the load is lower than 95%, you are charged for each task at the default price, which is $0.7 per 1000 for image captchas and $2 for Recaptchas. During this time, maximum bids affect nothing.
How does the bidding algorithm work?
In short:
When the number of new tasks starts to get higher than the number of workers online, we start accepting new tasks only if bids are slightly higher than the average task bid. Then, when workers finish all the tasks and switch to waiting mode, we start accepting all new tasks at the default price.
Thus, the algorithm:
1. Attempts to process the maximum amount of tasks by setting the minimum possible bid.
2. Attempts to give every worker one task to work on with a new task joining the queue as the worker is about to finish the first one.
3. Prevents scenarios with overloaded queues where tasks take forever to solve.
Results of this behavior:
1. Our service will never cost you more than the value you set in your maximum bid settings.
2. This bid does not mean you will always be charged that maximum price. When there are more workers than tasks, you'll be charged the default queue price or receive a discount if applicable.
3. If at any time you start getting ERROR_NO_SLOT_AVAILABLE errors, it means there are not enough workers online, and you either have to wait till they process all their tasks OR increase your maximum bid to get higher priority for your tasks.
Important note
1. You can't set a minimum bid below the price of the type of captchas you're trying to solve. For example, Recaptchas cost $2 per 1000 and you've set your bid to $1. Once you send a task, your maximum bid will automatically be increased to $2.
Is it OK to have 10, 20, 50 or more accounts?
No, it is not OK. This is usually considered to be fraud, and the accounts would be subject for termination. Contact our support first and explain why you need so many accounts, and we'll reach a deal.
How do I remove 2-factor authorisation via app?
Log out and reset your password on the login screen.
This method only applies for 2FA via apps (Google Auth, Authy, etc).
2FA via email can't be removed.
This method only applies for 2FA via apps (Google Auth, Authy, etc).
2FA via email can't be removed.
Where is my account key ?
It's on your API settings page.
I'd like to change my account email
This is not possible for security reasons. We never change account emails, for any reason whatsoever. Even if your old email is gone and you have to confirm something. Absolutely no exceptions.
If you need to use our service and you don't have access to your email to enter 2FA code, then you can only register a new account.
If you need to use our service and you don't have access to your email to enter 2FA code, then you can only register a new account.
What does DOMAIN_POOL mean in my statistics? My stats don't have domain statistics.
Each account has a limit of 100 unique domains for JS captchas that can be recorded into your statistics. If you exceed this number, then all the domains in your statistics are replaced by a DOMAIN_POOL string.
It is not possible to lift this limitation per account. It is not possible to remove previous statistics.
You may want to consider registering a new account for your new domains.
It is not possible to lift this limitation per account. It is not possible to remove previous statistics.
You may want to consider registering a new account for your new domains.
What does IP_POOL mean in my statistics? My stats don't have IP statistics.
Each account has a limit of 30 unique IPs which can be recorded into your statistics. If you exceed this number, then all IPs in your statistics are replaced with an IP_POOL string.
It is not possible to lift this limitation per account. It is not possible to remove previous statistics.
You may want to consider registering a new account for your new IPs.
It is not possible to lift this limitation per account. It is not possible to remove previous statistics.
You may want to consider registering a new account for your new IPs.
I can’t sign in to the customer area
Make sure you don't confuse login and email on the login screen. These are different things. You should enter your LOGIN and PASSWORD on the login screen.
If you registered with your EMAIL as your LOGIN, use any of it as your LOGIN (because, in your case, your EMAIL is your LOGIN).
Most problems occur when people remember their email as the login to their browser, but register with a different login and use an email+password combination to sign in. This won't work.
To retrieve your password, use the password recovery feature.
To retrieve your login, use the password recovery feature too – we put the login name in the email for your convenience.
If you're absolutely sure something is working incorrectly on our side, we offer you a $1,000 bounty challenge. Record a video of you attempting to log in and your failed recovery attempts, upload it to YouTube, and send us a link to the clip. If it does prove the issue is on our side, we'll work with you on recovering access to this account and add $1,000 to your balance, which you can withdraw at any time.
If you registered with your EMAIL as your LOGIN, use any of it as your LOGIN (because, in your case, your EMAIL is your LOGIN).
Most problems occur when people remember their email as the login to their browser, but register with a different login and use an email+password combination to sign in. This won't work.
To retrieve your password, use the password recovery feature.
To retrieve your login, use the password recovery feature too – we put the login name in the email for your convenience.
If you're absolutely sure something is working incorrectly on our side, we offer you a $1,000 bounty challenge. Record a video of you attempting to log in and your failed recovery attempts, upload it to YouTube, and send us a link to the clip. If it does prove the issue is on our side, we'll work with you on recovering access to this account and add $1,000 to your balance, which you can withdraw at any time.
What is "Unregistered Application" in my statistics?
Unregistered applications are those app which you use and which are not registered in our App Center.
App developers can register their app and receive a special "soft ID" with which they can send each captcha task. This way they can turn name "Unregistered Application" in your statistics in something different.
App developers can register their app and receive a special "soft ID" with which they can send each captcha task. This way they can turn name "Unregistered Application" in your statistics in something different.
My account got hacked and credits were stolen
We are deeply sorry, but this is your fault and here is why.
1. We don't store passwords as plain text. Instead, we store them in one-way hash representations. It is something to which you can encode a string, but cannot encode back. No one can log in with a hash, only with a password, which is then encoded into a hash, and we look to see whether this hash coincides with the one in the user database.
2. This means that we don't and can't know the password you set after registration. We don't store it anywhere. We send you an email with the default password and encourage you everywhere to change your password after registration and at least once a year after. If you did not change your password after registration, then it means that your email has been compromised, and the hacker has read access to your email. If you did change your password, read p.3.
3. We also encourage you not to use the same password on several websites. Following this advice will ensure that only you know the password and no one else.
If you DO use the same passwords on several websites, and then IF one of them is hacked AND the hacker stores passwords in plain text without encryption, THEN your login+password pair IS SOMETHING WORTH checking on multiple, hundreds and thousands of websites. There is special software that can automatically log in to client areas on many, many websites. Don't be surprised if all of your accounts with the same login+password pair are hacked and any remaining credits are sold, used, or transferred.
Follow these guidelines to prevent money from being stolen:
1. Use long, unique and secure passwords for every website.
2. Use special encrypted apps to store your passwords. Passwords for websites that hold your money should not be stored in your browsers. Attackers can hack your Gmail account and gain access to passwords stored in the Chrome cloud.
3. Use 2-factor authorization wherever you can. We also support it, set it up in Security Settings.
Once again, we are not responsible for your account funds. If they are stolen or used by someone else, it is 100% your problem. Don't ask us to compensate your losses; don't ask for loans or anything else. Complete the steps above to secure your account and you'll never have any problems again.
1. We don't store passwords as plain text. Instead, we store them in one-way hash representations. It is something to which you can encode a string, but cannot encode back. No one can log in with a hash, only with a password, which is then encoded into a hash, and we look to see whether this hash coincides with the one in the user database.
2. This means that we don't and can't know the password you set after registration. We don't store it anywhere. We send you an email with the default password and encourage you everywhere to change your password after registration and at least once a year after. If you did not change your password after registration, then it means that your email has been compromised, and the hacker has read access to your email. If you did change your password, read p.3.
3. We also encourage you not to use the same password on several websites. Following this advice will ensure that only you know the password and no one else.
If you DO use the same passwords on several websites, and then IF one of them is hacked AND the hacker stores passwords in plain text without encryption, THEN your login+password pair IS SOMETHING WORTH checking on multiple, hundreds and thousands of websites. There is special software that can automatically log in to client areas on many, many websites. Don't be surprised if all of your accounts with the same login+password pair are hacked and any remaining credits are sold, used, or transferred.
Follow these guidelines to prevent money from being stolen:
1. Use long, unique and secure passwords for every website.
2. Use special encrypted apps to store your passwords. Passwords for websites that hold your money should not be stored in your browsers. Attackers can hack your Gmail account and gain access to passwords stored in the Chrome cloud.
3. Use 2-factor authorization wherever you can. We also support it, set it up in Security Settings.
Once again, we are not responsible for your account funds. If they are stolen or used by someone else, it is 100% your problem. Don't ask us to compensate your losses; don't ask for loans or anything else. Complete the steps above to secure your account and you'll never have any problems again.
My spending statistics are way too high – I did not spend that much!!!
The capabilities of our API don't limit your applications in any way. Your application may send an unlimited number of captcha tasks, and all of them will be solved, presuming you have enough on your balance to cover the cost.
Thus, to limit your spending, you must control your applications yourself and have direct contact with the application developers in case you need them to program any software limits.
Some of you accuse us of artificially inflating your spending statistics as well as generating and adding extra captchas to your account. This is totally inconceivable. We do not tolerate nor do we discuss accusations such as these and prefer to terminate our relationship with such customers, refunding their remaining balance to their payment system and removing their accounts. All the statistics you see in your client area are generated by your application using your account access key. Period.
Kindly address any questions you may have regarding your increased spending to your application developers, not to us. We haven’t developed any apps – only this service and API.
If you are a developer, use API methods like getSpendingStats and getBalance to monitor your account spending programmatically and take action when needed.
With us, you can review/export your tasks within 24 hours of their creation and view them per-IP or per-application statistics. You can also create a ticket and ask for the remainder of your balance to be refunded to your payment provider.
Thus, to limit your spending, you must control your applications yourself and have direct contact with the application developers in case you need them to program any software limits.
Some of you accuse us of artificially inflating your spending statistics as well as generating and adding extra captchas to your account. This is totally inconceivable. We do not tolerate nor do we discuss accusations such as these and prefer to terminate our relationship with such customers, refunding their remaining balance to their payment system and removing their accounts. All the statistics you see in your client area are generated by your application using your account access key. Period.
Kindly address any questions you may have regarding your increased spending to your application developers, not to us. We haven’t developed any apps – only this service and API.
If you are a developer, use API methods like getSpendingStats and getBalance to monitor your account spending programmatically and take action when needed.
With us, you can review/export your tasks within 24 hours of their creation and view them per-IP or per-application statistics. You can also create a ticket and ask for the remainder of your balance to be refunded to your payment provider.
I want a daily/hourly limit per key
We don't have this and probably won't. If we stopped getting captchas via your key, we would somehow have to block all excess captcha requests, which we usually do with a firewall to prevent API abuse. We do the same thing with negative-balance accounts that continue sending captcha tasks.
Ask you developer to implement API methods getSpendingStats and getBalance to properly monitor your account spending and take the actions required when you hit your limit.
Ask you developer to implement API methods getSpendingStats and getBalance to properly monitor your account spending and take the actions required when you hit your limit.
How do I delete my account?
Please go to your account settings and find the "Delete account" option at the bottom.