To stop contact form spam, add a Captcha block first, turn on respondent email verification only if spam persists, and let AI triage tag what slips through. Qwenvo has all three for free. Start with the lightest option and add friction only when you need it, because every extra step also costs you real messages.
Step 1: add a Captcha
Type / in the editor and choose Captcha. Put it near the end of the form, just before the submit button. It stops most automated submissions and costs a real person one click.
Step 2: shape the form so bots get nothing
- Drop the Link field. Spam is mostly about links. If you do not need a URL, do not ask for one.
- Ask for a reason. A Multiple choice question ("What is this about?") gives you cleaner data than one big message box.
- Turn on prevent duplicate submissions in Settings if the same text keeps arriving.
- Close the form on a date or after a number of responses if it is for a limited event.
Step 3: verify the email if spam persists
In the form's Settings, turn on respondent email verification. The person gets a one-time code and has to enter it before the response counts. It is strong, and it adds a step, so use it where a fake address is a real problem, not on a simple say-hello form.
Step 4: let AI tag the rest
Under AI triage in Settings, switch on Triage submissions with AI. Spam is one of the categories a submission can get, so junk that gets past the Captcha is labelled instead of mixed in with real messages. Then add a routing rule that sends only the categories you care about to your email or Slack, so spam never reaches your phone.
Check the spam category once in a while. AI can be wrong, and a real person who writes badly can look like spam. Do not delete in bulk based on a label alone.
What not to do
- Do not also print your contact email address in plain text on the page. That is a separate spam channel.
- Do not stack every defence on day one. A Captcha, an email code, a password and a long questionnaire will lose real customers.
- Do not use the password option on a public contact form. It is for forms you share with specific people.
Honest limitations
No filter is perfect, and we do not publish a spam catch rate. If spam is costing you real money, add verification and review the spam category weekly at first.
A sensible default setup
If you only want one answer, use this. It is light enough that real visitors barely notice it.
- Build the form from the contact form template. Keep it to name, email and message, with an optional topic question.
- Add a Captcha block just before the submit button.
- Turn on prevent duplicate submissions in Settings.
- Switch on AI triage and send only real categories to your inbox or Slack.
Check your Submissions after a week. If spam is still getting through, add respondent email verification. If real people are complaining about the form, take a step away rather than adding another.
Spam on forms that are not contact forms
Event signups, giveaways and waitlists attract fake entries because they offer something of value. The same tools apply, with two additions. Close the form on a date or after a set number of responses, so a bot has a short window. And ask for something only a real person would bother to provide, such as a short reason for joining, instead of just an email address.
Questions people ask
Is the Captcha block free?
Yes. Every block is available on every account.
Why am I getting spam from a form I just published?
Public forms get found, and bots look for any form to post to. A Captcha plus a closing date or response cap usually settles it.
Can I keep spam out of my exports?
Exports come as CSV, JSON or XLSX, so you can filter by the category shown on each submission in your spreadsheet.
Next step: start from the contact form template, add the Captcha, and read how AI triage works.
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