Why does my website think I’m a bot?

If you’ve ever tried to browse a website or fill out a form and gotten a message like “Are you a robot?” or “Please prove you’re not a bot”, you’re not alone. Many websites use bot detection systems to distinguish real human visitors from bots and automated scripts. While this can be frustrating, there are some valid reasons websites want to block bots from accessing their content.

Common Reasons Websites Detect Bots

There are a few main reasons websites use bot detection:

• Prevent spam and abuse – Bots are often used for spamming comment sections, scraping content, and other malicious activities. Bot detection helps block this.
• Improve analytics – Bots and scrapers can skew website analytics and inflate traffic numbers. Filtering them out provides more accurate site stats.
• Protect infrastructure – An influx of bots can overload servers and use up bandwidth. Bot detection limits this strain on resources.
• Comply with laws – Some laws like GDPR require websites to verify users are human before collecting certain data.
• Enhance security – Separating humans from bots makes it easier to detect and block more sophisticated automated threats.

Common Triggers for Bot Detection Systems

There are certain signals that often trigger bot detectors to flag visitors as potential bots:

• Irregular mouse movements – Bots often don’t move mice like humans.
• No mouse movement – Bots don’t move mice at all.
• Fast data entry – Bots autofill forms much faster than humans.
• Repeated actions – Doing the same thing over and over quickly.
• Large volumes of requests – Bots can send tons of pings rapidly.
• Unusual activity times – Bots operate 24/7, not just normal human hours.
• Suspicious IP addresses – Some IP ranges are known for bot activity.

Basically any behavior that seems robotic, automated, or too systematic can get flagged. Humans are much less consistent than bots when browsing and filling out forms.

Common Bot Detection and Prevention Methods

There are a variety of technical methods sites use to detect and deter bots:

• CAPTCHAs – These require users to prove they are human by reading distorted text or identifying objects in images that machines can’t recognize.
• ReCAPTCHAs – More advanced CAPTCHAs from Google that analyze mouse movements and interactions for human-like behavior.
• Access keys – Requiring a special access key forces bots to have the key before scraping or accessing a site.
• IP blocking – Banning requests from IP ranges known for bot activity.
• Rate limiting – Only allowing a certain number of requests per IP address per time period.
• User agent checks – Blocking common bot user agent strings.
• Behavior analysis – Looking for non-human patterns like fast form entries.
• Cookies – Requiring cookies makes it harder for bots with no cookie support.

Some combination of these is usually required for effective bot prevention today.

How to Avoid Being Flagged as a Bot

If you are getting flagged as a bot when browsing or using a website, here are some tips to appear more human:

• Don’t copy/paste – Typing data manually is slower and more human-like.
• Click elements naturally – Move your mouse around and don’t follow the exact same path repeatedly.
• Vary activity times – Take breaks between actions and don’t do things too systematically.
• Turn off automation plugins – Browser extensions for things like auto-refresh and auto-scrolling can trigger detectors.
• Allow cookies and JavaScript – Most bot detectors require these to be enabled to analyze your behavior.
• Use a VPN or proxy – Your own IP address could be flagged if others have used it for bot activity.
• Solve CAPTCHAs and other challenges – Taking the time to complete these proves you are human.

Also be aware that refreshing pages too rapidly, opening too many tabs at once, and other unusual behaviors can sometimes look bot-like even if done manually. Try to interact with sites as naturally as possible.

When Bot Blocking Goes Too Far

Although bot detection has legitimate purposes, sometimes it can be overzealous and flag innocent human visitors. A few signs a site may be excessively blocking users:

• Constant CAPTCHAs required even for basic browsing.
• Getting flagged immediately upon visiting a page.
• Blocking continues even after solving CAPTCHAs and proving humanity.
• No clear way to request re-review or report mistakes.
• Even mindful manual interactions get flagged as suspicious.

Excessively sensitive bot screening often stems from outdated detection rules or faulty configuration. Unfortunately there is little users can do in these cases beyond avoiding the site or requesting the site owner reassess their blocker settings.

When to Request Manual Review of Blocking

If you are confident you are getting incorrectly flagged as a bot on a website, it is reasonable to tactfully request a manual review. Some tips:

• Contact the site owner or admin – Check the site for a contact email or submission form.
• Explain you are a real human – Politely provide details on why you don’t appear to be a bot.
• Offer to assist – If needed, propose ideas like providing additional verification or troubleshooting.
• Avoid accusations – Even if frustrations are justified, keep communication constructive.
• Suggest improvements – Recommend ways the detection rules could be refined to avoid others being mislabeled.

With a courteous and cooperative approach, you may be able to get the site to re-evaluate their bot filtering and grant you proper access. But also be prepared for the request to be ignored or denied if the site remains adamant in their bot determination.

Using Browser Extensions to Avoid Bot Blockers

In addition to adjusting your own browsing behaviors, there are browser extensions that claim to circumvent bot blockers:

However, using these extensions is risky. Not only are they morally questionable for bypassing legitimate bot detection, they can be detected themselves and lead to even more blocking. Most also violate site terms by automating processes designed to prove humanity. It’s better to avoid these shortcuts and focus on interacting with sites as authentically as possible.

Conclusion

Getting labeled a bot when you are actually human can certainly be inconvenient and frustrating. But in most cases, websites have implemented bot screening for good reasons like security, analytics accuracy, infrastructure protection, and legal compliance. The best recourse is adjusting your browsing behaviors to appear more human-like, disabling any automation extensions or scripts, and tactfully appealing to site owners if issues persist. With some minor modifications to how you access sites, you should be able to convince bot detectors that you are not a robot after all.