mosparo provides open-source, self-hosted spam protection for web forms using rule-based content analysis, accessible to all users including those with disabilities.

🚀 Overview

mosparo is a modern spam protection system designed to safeguard online forms from spam bots without the frustrations of traditional CAPTCHAs. It works by analyzing the content of form submissions using customizable rules—such as suspicious words, domains, IP addresses, or user agents—to block spam before it reaches your inbox. Unlike CAPTCHAs, which often exclude users with disabilities, mosparo is fully accessible, privacy-focused, and self-hosted.

This project solves the problem of spam overwhelming contact forms, newsletters, and other web inputs while avoiding the accessibility barriers and privacy invasions of puzzle-based or tracking-heavy alternatives. It's built for website owners, developers, and anyone managing online forms who prioritizes user experience, data protection, and ease of integration.

mosparo was created in May 2021 to address the lack of a truly accessible and private spam filter. Developed as open-source software by a dedicated team, it's maintained in spare time with a focus on simplicity and effectiveness.

✨ Key Features

Rule-based spam detection: Customizable rules for words, domains, emails, IPs, providers, Unicode blocks, user agents, and websites to catch spam accurately.
Full accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA compliant, works with screen readers, mouse, keyboard, or touch—no puzzles or images required.
Privacy-first design: Only uses form data, IP, and user agent; no cookies or tracking; data encrypted/hashed and auto-deleted after 14 days.
Customizable and multilingual: Style the protection checkbox to match your site; supports 26 frontend languages.
Optional: Honeypot fields, minimum submission time, GeoIP2 integration, API clients (PHP, JS, Python, etc.), and plugins for WordPress, Drupal, TYPO3, Django, etc.

🛠 Tech Stack

Frontend: Twig, JavaScript, SCSS, Webpack, Yarn
Backend: PHP 8.1+, Composer (Symfony components)
Database: MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite
Auth: Custom (project-based keys)
Hosting: Self-hosted on any web server with PHP support; Docker images available

👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

Developers who want to protect forms without compromising accessibility or privacy
Teams looking for self-hosted, open-source spam filtering
Indie makers building websites with contact forms, needing easy integrations