PIPEDA / CPPA
Privacy-by-design for Canadian requirements.
Scope
SCaptcha supports PIPEDA and CPPA-aligned deployments through self-hosted processing, optional logging, and clear control over data residency.
This page maps SCaptcha 2.3.0 behavior to the named framework. It is not a certification or legal advice.
Accountability and purpose limitation
SCaptcha is built for abuse prevention, not profiling. You control which security signals are collected.
Self-hosting keeps accountability with your organization rather than a third-party vendor.
Data residency and transfers
All verification data remains in your infrastructure. There are no required cross-border transfers.
If you enable external proxy intelligence, document the transfer and ensure your contractual safeguards align with CPPA expectations.
Minimal collection and retention
Proof-of-Work and behavior checks do not require personal data. Logging is optional and can be minimized or disabled.
Retention windows are configurable, allowing you to align with internal policies and breach response needs.
Implementation checklist
Explain security processing in your privacy notice, keep logs minimal, and limit access to authorized staff.
Review any optional third-party lookups and document them as needed.
SCaptcha 2.3.0 behavior
Each challenge uses its own cryptographically random 32-byte salt. Your WoltLab installation validates the salt, hash, algorithm, answer, and HMAC against the issuing session. The challenge expires after 60 seconds and does not require an external CAPTCHA provider.
This option is off by default. If you enable it, SCaptcha sends the visitor's public IP address to proxycheck.io for proxy, VPN, or Tor evidence. SCaptcha 2.3.0 sends tag=0 by default; administrators can opt in to provider logging. The IP address is transmitted for every lookup either way.
A pre-submit marker and the optional text/audio proof are valid for 5 minutes. Under-Attack mode uses a signed, user-agent-bound access cookie for 5 to 30 minutes; the default is 10. Sentinel can store a server-side rejection in a separate signed cookie for 10 minutes. Sentinel itself is off by default.
Request analytics are on by default. Logs can contain linkable operational data, including IP address, user agent, request, network and location fields, reasons, and submitted browser telemetry. Retention defaults to 90 days and can be set from 1 to 3,650 days. Turning analytics off stops new collection but does not erase existing rows or exports.
What operators need to review
Document enabled features, limit access to security logs, and assess optional external services separately. SCaptcha does not replace legal review or accessibility testing of the complete website.
Enable only the options you need. Update privacy and cookie notices, restrict access to analytics and logs, and test the actual form integration before launch.