public function validate( $valid ) {
		if ( ! $this->is_enabled() ) {
			return $valid;
		}

		// If $valid is already a truthy, return early since something else already encountered a validation issue.
		if ( $valid ) {
			return $valid;
		}
		$token = isset( $_POST['g-recaptcha-response'] )
			? sanitize_text_field( wp_unslash( $_POST['g-recaptcha-response'] ) )
			: '';

		if ( ! $token ) {
			if ( apply_filters( 'llms_enable_recaptcha_logs', false ) ) {
				error_log( 'LifterLMS form blocked due to missing captcha' );
			}
			llms_add_notice( __( 'CAPTCHA token missing, please refresh and try again.', 'lifterlms' ), 'error' );
			return true;
		}

		$response = wp_remote_post(
			'https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/siteverify',
			array(
				'body'    => array(
					'secret'   => $this->secret_key,
					'response' => $token,
					'remoteip' => $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] ?? '',
				),
				'timeout' => 15,
			)
		);

		$body = ! is_wp_error( $response ) ? json_decode( wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response ), true ) : null;

		$passed = $body
					&& ! empty( $body['success'] )
					&& $body['score'] >= $this->min_score
					&& ( empty( $body['action'] ) || $body['action'] === $this->action ); // action check is optional but recommended

		if ( ! $passed ) {
			if ( apply_filters( 'llms_enable_spam_logs', false ) ) {
				error_log( 'LLMS_Google_Recaptcha verification failed: ' . ( $body ? print_r( $body, true ) : '' ) );
			}

			llms_add_notice( __( 'CAPTCHA validation failed — please try again.', 'lifterlms' ), 'error' );
			return true;
		}

		// We're okay to proceed.
		return $valid;
	}