diff --git a/app/controllers/about_controller.rb b/app/controllers/about_controller.rb
index 5a35dbbcb..620c0ff78 100644
--- a/app/controllers/about_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/about_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 class AboutController < ApplicationController
   include RegistrationSpamConcern
-  include CaptchaConcern
 
   before_action :set_pack
 
@@ -13,7 +12,6 @@ class AboutController < ApplicationController
   before_action :set_instance_presenter
   before_action :set_expires_in, only: [:more, :terms]
   before_action :set_registration_form_time, only: :show
-  before_action :extend_csp_for_captcha!, only: :show
 
   skip_before_action :require_functional!, only: [:more, :terms]
 
diff --git a/app/controllers/api/v1/accounts_controller.rb b/app/controllers/api/v1/accounts_controller.rb
index 8916c3f96..5c47158e0 100644
--- a/app/controllers/api/v1/accounts_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/api/v1/accounts_controller.rb
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
 class Api::V1::AccountsController < Api::BaseController
-  include CaptchaConcern
-
   before_action -> { authorize_if_got_token! :read, :'read:accounts' }, except: [:create, :follow, :unfollow, :remove_from_followers, :block, :unblock, :mute, :unmute]
   before_action -> { doorkeeper_authorize! :follow, :'write:follows' }, only: [:follow, :unfollow, :remove_from_followers]
   before_action -> { doorkeeper_authorize! :follow, :'write:mutes' }, only: [:mute, :unmute]
@@ -85,7 +83,7 @@ class Api::V1::AccountsController < Api::BaseController
   end
 
   def check_enabled_registrations
-    forbidden if single_user_mode? || omniauth_only? || !allowed_registrations? || captcha_enabled?
+    forbidden if single_user_mode? || omniauth_only? || !allowed_registrations?
   end
 
   def allowed_registrations?
diff --git a/app/controllers/auth/confirmations_controller.rb b/app/controllers/auth/confirmations_controller.rb
index e9a646f91..17ad56fa8 100644
--- a/app/controllers/auth/confirmations_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/auth/confirmations_controller.rb
@@ -22,8 +22,6 @@ class Auth::ConfirmationsController < Devise::ConfirmationsController
   end
 
   def show
-    clear_captcha!
-
     old_session_values = session.to_hash
     reset_session
     session.update old_session_values.except('session_id')
@@ -63,10 +61,6 @@ class Auth::ConfirmationsController < Devise::ConfirmationsController
     invite.present? && !invite.max_uses.nil?
   end
 
-  def captcha_context
-    'email-confirmation'
-  end
-
   def set_pack
     use_pack 'auth'
   end
diff --git a/app/controllers/auth/registrations_controller.rb b/app/controllers/auth/registrations_controller.rb
index 0db9cb84d..6b1f3fa82 100644
--- a/app/controllers/auth/registrations_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/auth/registrations_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 class Auth::RegistrationsController < Devise::RegistrationsController
   include RegistrationSpamConcern
-  include CaptchaConcern
 
   layout :determine_layout
 
@@ -16,8 +15,6 @@ class Auth::RegistrationsController < Devise::RegistrationsController
   before_action :require_not_suspended!, only: [:update]
   before_action :set_cache_headers, only: [:edit, :update]
   before_action :set_registration_form_time, only: :new
-  before_action :extend_csp_for_captcha!, only: [:new, :create]
-  before_action :check_captcha!, only: :create
 
   skip_before_action :require_functional!, only: [:edit, :update]
 
@@ -138,23 +135,4 @@ class Auth::RegistrationsController < Devise::RegistrationsController
   def set_cache_headers
     response.headers['Cache-Control'] = 'no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate'
   end
-
-  def sign_up(resource_name, resource)
-    clear_captcha!
-
-    old_session_values = session.to_hash
-    reset_session
-    session.update old_session_values.except('session_id')
-
-    super
-  end
-
-  def check_captcha!
-    super do |error|
-      build_resource(sign_up_params)
-      resource.validate
-      resource.errors.add(:base, error)
-      respond_with resource
-    end
-  end
 end
diff --git a/app/controllers/concerns/captcha_concern.rb b/app/controllers/concerns/captcha_concern.rb
index 02069d205..538c1ffb1 100644
--- a/app/controllers/concerns/captcha_concern.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/concerns/captcha_concern.rb
@@ -4,10 +4,8 @@ module CaptchaConcern
   extend ActiveSupport::Concern
   include Hcaptcha::Adapters::ViewMethods
 
-  CAPTCHA_TIMEOUT = 2.hours.freeze
-
   included do
-    helper_method :render_captcha_if_needed
+    helper_method :render_captcha
   end
 
   def captcha_available?
@@ -15,32 +13,21 @@ module CaptchaConcern
   end
 
   def captcha_enabled?
-    captcha_available? && Setting.captcha_mode == captcha_context
-  end
-
-  def captcha_recently_passed?
-    session[:captcha_passed_at].present? && session[:captcha_passed_at] >= CAPTCHA_TIMEOUT.ago
+    captcha_available? && Setting.captcha_enabled
   end
 
   def captcha_user_bypass?
-    current_user.present? || (@invite.present? && @invite.valid_for_use? && !@invite.max_uses.nil?)
+    false
   end
 
   def captcha_required?
-    return false if ENV['OMNIAUTH_ONLY'] == 'true'
-    return false unless Setting.registrations_mode != 'none' || @invite&.valid_for_use?
-    captcha_enabled? && !captcha_user_bypass? && !captcha_recently_passed?
-  end
-
-  def clear_captcha!
-    session.delete(:captcha_passed_at)
+    captcha_enabled? && !captcha_user_bypass?
   end
 
   def check_captcha!
     return true unless captcha_required?
 
     if verify_hcaptcha
-      session[:captcha_passed_at] = Time.now.utc
       true
     else
       if block_given?
@@ -64,13 +51,9 @@ module CaptchaConcern
     end
   end
 
-  def render_captcha_if_needed
+  def render_captcha
     return unless captcha_required?
 
     hcaptcha_tags
   end
-
-  def captcha_context
-    'registration-form'
-  end
 end
diff --git a/app/models/form/admin_settings.rb b/app/models/form/admin_settings.rb
index 7abb0d6c6..34f14e312 100644
--- a/app/models/form/admin_settings.rb
+++ b/app/models/form/admin_settings.rb
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class Form::AdminSettings
     noindex
     outgoing_spoilers
     require_invite_text
-    captcha_mode
+    captcha_enabled
   ).freeze
 
   BOOLEAN_KEYS = %i(
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ class Form::AdminSettings
     trendable_by_default
     noindex
     require_invite_text
+    captcha_enabled
   ).freeze
 
   UPLOAD_KEYS = %i(
@@ -82,7 +83,6 @@ class Form::AdminSettings
   validates :bootstrap_timeline_accounts, existing_username: { multiple: true }
   validates :show_domain_blocks, inclusion: { in: %w(disabled users all) }
   validates :show_domain_blocks_rationale, inclusion: { in: %w(disabled users all) }
-  validates :captcha_mode, inclusion: { in: %w(disabled registration-form email-confirmation) }
 
   def initialize(_attributes = {})
     super
diff --git a/app/serializers/rest/instance_serializer.rb b/app/serializers/rest/instance_serializer.rb
index d343cca20..48bbb55c8 100644
--- a/app/serializers/rest/instance_serializer.rb
+++ b/app/serializers/rest/instance_serializer.rb
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ class REST::InstanceSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
   end
 
   def registrations
-    Setting.registrations_mode != 'none' && !Rails.configuration.x.single_user_mode && !captcha_enabled?
+    Setting.registrations_mode != 'none' && !Rails.configuration.x.single_user_mode
   end
 
   def approval_required
@@ -114,8 +114,4 @@ class REST::InstanceSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
   def instance_presenter
     @instance_presenter ||= InstancePresenter.new
   end
-
-  def captcha_enabled?
-    ENV['HCAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY'].present? && ENV['HCAPTCHA_SITE_KEY'].present? && Setting.captcha_mode == 'registration-form'
-  end
 end
diff --git a/app/views/about/_registration.html.haml b/app/views/about/_registration.html.haml
index 5bb5d08a2..e4d614d71 100644
--- a/app/views/about/_registration.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/about/_registration.html.haml
@@ -21,9 +21,6 @@
     .fields-group
       = f.input :agreement, as: :boolean, wrapper: :with_label, label: t('auth.checkbox_agreement_html', rules_path: about_more_path, terms_path: terms_path), required: true, disabled: closed_registrations?
 
-    .fields-group
-      = render_captcha_if_needed
-
     .actions
       = f.button :button, sign_up_message, type: :submit, class: 'button button-primary', disabled: closed_registrations?
 
diff --git a/app/views/admin/settings/edit.html.haml b/app/views/admin/settings/edit.html.haml
index fc042f845..49b03a9e3 100644
--- a/app/views/admin/settings/edit.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/admin/settings/edit.html.haml
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
 
   - if captcha_available?
     .fields-group
-      = f.input :captcha_mode, as: :radio_buttons, collection: %w(disabled registration-form email-confirmation), include_blank: false, wrapper: :with_block_label, label_method: ->(type) { safe_join([t("admin.settings.captcha.#{type}.title"), content_tag(:span, t("admin.settings.captcha.#{type}.desc_html"), class: 'hint')])}, label: t('admin.settings.captcha.title'), hint: t('admin.settings.captcha.desc_html')
+      = f.input :captcha_enabled, as: :boolean, wrapper: :with_label, label: t('admin.settings.captcha_enabled.title'), hint: t('admin.settings.captcha_enabled.desc_html')
 
   %hr.spacer/
 
diff --git a/app/views/auth/confirmations/captcha.html.haml b/app/views/auth/confirmations/captcha.html.haml
index 850bc1479..0f7cf9c59 100644
--- a/app/views/auth/confirmations/captcha.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/auth/confirmations/captcha.html.haml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
   = hidden_field_tag :confirmation_token, params[:confirmation_token]
 
   .field-group
-    = render_captcha_if_needed
+    = render_captcha
 
   .actions
     %button.button= t('challenge.continue')
diff --git a/app/views/auth/registrations/new.html.haml b/app/views/auth/registrations/new.html.haml
index 5cb558297..6981195ed 100644
--- a/app/views/auth/registrations/new.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/auth/registrations/new.html.haml
@@ -38,9 +38,6 @@
   .fields-group
     = f.input :agreement, as: :boolean, wrapper: :with_label, label: whitelist_mode? ? t('auth.checkbox_agreement_without_rules_html', terms_path: terms_path) : t('auth.checkbox_agreement_html', rules_path: about_more_path, terms_path: terms_path), required: true
 
-  .field-group
-    = render_captcha_if_needed
-
   .actions
     = f.button :button, @invite.present? ? t('auth.register') : sign_up_message, type: :submit
 
diff --git a/config/locales-glitch/en.yml b/config/locales-glitch/en.yml
index 6ad5a5365..ab7f1b976 100644
--- a/config/locales-glitch/en.yml
+++ b/config/locales-glitch/en.yml
@@ -2,18 +2,9 @@
 en:
   admin:
     settings:
-      captcha:
-        desc_html: Configure hCaptcha integration, relying on third-party scripts. This may have security and privacy implications.
-        email-confirmation:
-          desc_html: Require new users to go through hCaptcha at the e-mail validation step. Bots will not be deterred from creating accounts, but they may be prevented from confirming them, leaving them to be automatically cleaned up after a couple days. This does not interfere with app-based registrations.
-          title: CAPTCHA on email validation
-        disabled:
-          desc_html: Do not require a CAPTCHA
-          title: Disabled
-        registration-form:
-          desc_html: Require new users to go through hCaptcha on the registration form, so that CAPTCHA requirement is immediately apparent to them. This disables app-based registrations and may prevent your instance from being listed as having open registrations.
-          title: CAPTCHA on registration forms
-        title: CAPTCHA configuration
+      captcha_enabled:
+        desc_html: Enable hCaptcha integration, requiring new users to solve a challenge when confirming their email address. This requires third-party scripts from hCaptcha to be embedded in the email verification page, which may have security and privacy concerns. Users that have been invited through a limited-use invite will not need to solve a CAPTCHA challenge.
+        title: Require new users to go through a CAPTCHA to confirm their account
       enable_keybase:
         desc_html: Allow your users to prove their identity via keybase
         title: Enable keybase integration
diff --git a/config/settings.yml b/config/settings.yml
index b5437caee..7d192f369 100644
--- a/config/settings.yml
+++ b/config/settings.yml
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ defaults: &defaults
   show_domain_blocks_rationale: 'disabled'
   outgoing_spoilers: ''
   require_invite_text: false
-  captcha_mode: 'disabled'
+  captcha_enabled: false
 
 development:
   <<: *defaults
diff --git a/spec/views/about/show.html.haml_spec.rb b/spec/views/about/show.html.haml_spec.rb
index 12c96ea49..d608bbf5d 100644
--- a/spec/views/about/show.html.haml_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/views/about/show.html.haml_spec.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ describe 'about/show.html.haml', without_verify_partial_doubles: true do
     allow(view).to receive(:site_title).and_return('example site')
     allow(view).to receive(:new_user).and_return(User.new)
     allow(view).to receive(:use_seamless_external_login?).and_return(false)
-    allow(view).to receive(:render_captcha_if_needed).and_return(nil)
   end
 
   it 'has valid open graph tags' do