Detecting Bots in 2026: IP Intelligence + Email Validation in One API Call - DEV Community

This page discusses bot detection strategies for 2026, noting that approximately 40% of web app traffic is non-human, including scrapers and fake signups. Traditional CAPTCHAs are ineffective, so the author recommends using IP intelligence and email validation together. IP intelligence checks for VPNs, proxies, datacenter IPs, and abuse reports, while email validation verifies domain existence and mailbox validity. By combining these two signals, developers can catch over 90% of malicious traffic before it reaches their application, providing a more effective and user-friendly security approach than CAPTCHA alone.