diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index efa180355..c3cd7a3c4 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -127,4 +127,7 @@ docker_environment_init.sh
 .envrc
 
 # Exclude Makefiles
-Makefile
\ No newline at end of file
+Makefile
+
+# Exclude files create at runtime - by webpack and storybook
+common/static/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 4439a5983..941286b45 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
 # https://hub.docker.com/r/nikolaik/python-nodejs
 FROM nikolaik/python-nodejs:python3.10-nodejs16
 
+# Refresh Yarn repo GPG key (old key 62D54FD4003F6525 expired; fetch the
+# current one so apt-get update succeeds on bookworm-based images).
+RUN curl -fsSL https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/pubkey.gpg \
+    | gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/yarn-archive-keyring.gpg \
+    && sed -i 's|^deb \[.*\] https://dl.yarnpkg.com|deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/yarn-archive-keyring.gpg] https://dl.yarnpkg.com|;s|^deb https://dl.yarnpkg.com|deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/yarn-archive-keyring.gpg] https://dl.yarnpkg.com|' \
+        /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yarn.list 2>/dev/null || true
+
 # This to get GDAL thanks to https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62546706/how-do-i-install-gdal-in-a-python-docker-environment
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install
 
diff --git a/common/components/common/integrations/NewsletterSignup.jsx b/common/components/common/integrations/NewsletterSignup.jsx
index 0090b51ff..f81ba5f11 100644
--- a/common/components/common/integrations/NewsletterSignup.jsx
+++ b/common/components/common/integrations/NewsletterSignup.jsx
@@ -1,51 +1,19 @@
 // @flow
 
 import React from "react";
-
+// In mailchimp go to forms > other forms choose the subscription landing page to get the url
 class NewsletterSignup extends React.Component {
   render() {
     return (
       <div id="mc_embed_signup">
-        <form
-          action="https://democracylab.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=72af92d0a817dcbf3aa960ee0&amp;id=d3b4c4d81c"
-          method="post"
-          id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form"
-          name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form"
-          className="validate"
+        <a
+          href="https://mailchi.mp/democracylab/subscribe"
           target="_blank"
-          noValidate
+          rel="noopener noreferrer"
+          className={this.props.btnClass}
         >
-          <div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll">
-            <div className="mc-field-group SocialFooter-signupcontainer">
-              <label htmlFor="mce-EMAIL" />
-              <input
-                type="submit"
-                value="Subscribe"
-                name="subscribe"
-                id="mc-embedded-subscribe"
-                className={this.props.btnClass}
-              />
-            </div>
-            <div id="mce-responses" className="clear">
-              <div
-                className="response mc_display_none"
-                id="mce-error-response"
-              />
-              <div
-                className="response mc_display_none"
-                id="mce-success-response"
-              />
-            </div>
-            <div className="mc_embed_hidden" aria-hidden="true">
-              <input
-                type="text"
-                name="b_72af92d0a817dcbf3aa960ee0_d3b4c4d81c"
-                tabIndex="-1"
-                defaultValue=""
-              />
-            </div>
-          </div>
-        </form>
+          Subscribe
+        </a>
       </div>
     );
   }
diff --git a/common/components/controllers/SignUpController.jsx b/common/components/controllers/SignUpController.jsx
index 3ea63e636..15e367d16 100644
--- a/common/components/controllers/SignUpController.jsx
+++ b/common/components/controllers/SignUpController.jsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import DjangoCSRFToken from "django-react-csrftoken";
 import React from "react";
+import ReCAPTCHA from "react-google-recaptcha";
 import type { Validator } from "../forms/FormValidation.jsx";
 import FormValidation from "../forms/FormValidation.jsx";
 import metrics from "../utils/metrics.js";
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ type State = {|
   validations: $ReadOnlyArray<Validator>,
   termsOpen: boolean,
   didCheckTerms: boolean,
+  reCaptchaValue: ?string,
   isValid: boolean,
 |};
 
@@ -50,6 +52,7 @@ class SignUpController extends React.Component<Props, State> {
       password2: "",
       termsOpen: false,
       didCheckTerms: false,
+      reCaptchaValue: null,
       isValid: false,
       validations: [
         {
@@ -88,10 +91,23 @@ class SignUpController extends React.Component<Props, State> {
           checkFunc: (state: State) => state.didCheckTerms,
           errorMessage: "Agree to terms of service",
         },
+        {
+          checkFunc: (state: State) =>
+            !this.isCaptchaEnabled() || !_.isEmpty(state.reCaptchaValue),
+          errorMessage: "Please complete the captcha",
+        },
       ],
     };
   }
 
+  isCaptchaEnabled(): boolean {
+    return !_.isEmpty(window.GR_SITEKEY);
+  }
+
+  reCaptchaOnChange(value: ?string): void {
+    this.setState({ reCaptchaValue: value });
+  }
+
   onValidationCheck(isValid: boolean): void {
     if (isValid !== this.state.isValid) {
       this.setState({ isValid });
@@ -153,6 +169,11 @@ class SignUpController extends React.Component<Props, State> {
               />
             </div>
             <input name="password" value={this.state.password1} type="hidden" />
+            <input
+              name="reCaptchaValue"
+              value={this.state.reCaptchaValue || ""}
+              type="hidden"
+            />
 
             <div>
               <input name="newsletter_signup" type="checkbox" />
@@ -206,6 +227,15 @@ class SignUpController extends React.Component<Props, State> {
               formState={this.state}
             />
 
+            {this.isCaptchaEnabled() ? (
+              <div className="LogInController-captcha">
+                <ReCAPTCHA
+                  sitekey={window.GR_SITEKEY}
+                  onChange={this.reCaptchaOnChange.bind(this)}
+                />
+              </div>
+            ) : null}
+
             <Button
               variant="success"
               className="LogInController-signInButton"
diff --git a/common/helpers/mailing_list.py b/common/helpers/mailing_list.py
index d015b4664..9f380b985 100644
--- a/common/helpers/mailing_list.py
+++ b/common/helpers/mailing_list.py
@@ -1,3 +1,33 @@
+"""
+Mailchimp setup instructions
+
+1. Create a Mailchimp account and audience
+    - In Mailchimp, create or choose the audience that should receive signups.
+    - This module uses member status "subscribed" after DemocracyLab email
+      verification, so users are not prompted with a second Mailchimp opt-in email.
+
+2. Create an API key
+    - In Mailchimp: Profile -> Extras -> API keys -> Create A Key.
+    - Copy the generated key.
+
+3. Configure app environment variables
+    - Set MAILCHIMP_API_KEY to your Mailchimp API key.
+    - Set MAILCHIMP_SUBSCRIBE_LIST_ID to your audience/list id.
+
+4. Find your audience/list id
+    - In Mailchimp audience settings, copy the Audience ID.
+    - Use that value for MAILCHIMP_SUBSCRIBE_LIST_ID.
+
+5. Verify the signup flow
+    - Start the app and submit signup with newsletter opt-in.
+    - Verify the user email first (subscription is deferred until verification).
+    - Confirm a "subscribed" member appears in Mailchimp after verification.
+
+Security notes
+    - Keep subscription deferred until after DemocracyLab email verification.
+    - Keep CAPTCHA and signup rate limiting enabled on the signup endpoint.
+"""
+
 import threading
 from mailchimp3 import MailChimp
 from django.conf import settings
@@ -16,11 +46,19 @@ def print_error(self, err_msg):
         err_msg = "Failed to subscribe {first} {last}({email}) to mailing list: {err_msg}".format(
             first=self.first_name,
             last=self.last_name,
-            email=self.email,
+            email=self.masked_email(),
             err_msg=err_msg,
         )
         print(err_msg)
 
+    def masked_email(self):
+        if not self.email or '@' not in self.email:
+            return '***'
+
+        local, domain = self.email.split('@', 1)
+        visible = local[:2] if len(local) >= 2 else local[:1]
+        return '{local}***@{domain}'.format(local=visible, domain=domain)
+
     def run(self):
         if settings.MAILCHIMP_API_KEY is None:
             self.print_error("MAILCHIMP_API_KEY not set")
diff --git a/democracylab/migrations/0011_contributor_newsletter_signup_requested.py b/democracylab/migrations/0011_contributor_newsletter_signup_requested.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e54db35e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/democracylab/migrations/0011_contributor_newsletter_signup_requested.py
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ('democracylab', '0010_alter_usertaggedtechnologies_tag'),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AddField(
+            model_name='contributor',
+            name='newsletter_signup_requested',
+            field=models.BooleanField(default=False),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/democracylab/models.py b/democracylab/models.py
index 007a6ac79..4b5dadf63 100644
--- a/democracylab/models.py
+++ b/democracylab/models.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ class UserTaggedTechnologies(TaggedItemBase):
 
 class Contributor(User):
     email_verified = models.BooleanField(default=False)
+    newsletter_signup_requested = models.BooleanField(default=False)
     country = models.CharField(max_length=2, blank=True)
     postal_code = models.CharField(max_length=20, blank=True)
     phone_primary = models.CharField(max_length=200, blank=True)
diff --git a/democracylab/settings.py b/democracylab/settings.py
index 5585bcb82..e6fb063f4 100644
--- a/democracylab/settings.py
+++ b/democracylab/settings.py
@@ -312,6 +312,8 @@ def read_connection_config(config):
 # Google ReCaptcha keys - site key is exposed to the front end, secret is not
 GR_SITEKEY = os.environ.get("GOOGLE_RECAPTCHA_SITE_KEY", "")
 GR_SECRETKEY = os.environ.get("GOOGLE_RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY", "")
+SIGNUP_RATE_LIMIT_ATTEMPTS = int(os.environ.get("SIGNUP_RATE_LIMIT_ATTEMPTS", "10"))
+SIGNUP_RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_SECONDS = int(os.environ.get("SIGNUP_RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_SECONDS", "60"))
 
 # Heap Analytics app id
 HEAP_ANALYTICS_ID = os.environ.get("HEAP_ANALYTICS_ID", "")
@@ -412,6 +414,10 @@ def read_connection_config(config):
     "*.google-analytics.com",
     "*.nr-data.net",
     "*.hereapi.com",
+    # reCAPTCHA posts token validation requests to Google endpoints.
+    "https://www.google.com",
+    # reCAPTCHA also loads assets from Google's static CDN.
+    "https://www.gstatic.com",
     "https://*.hotjar.com",
     "https://*.hotjar.io",
     "wss://*.hotjar.com",
diff --git a/democracylab/views.py b/democracylab/views.py
index 5435c7b5a..3af83fe4c 100644
--- a/democracylab/views.py
+++ b/democracylab/views.py
@@ -2,13 +2,16 @@
 from common.helpers.front_end import section_url
 from common.helpers.mailing_list import SubscribeToMailingList
 from common.helpers.qiqo_chat import SubscribeUserToQiqoChat
+from django.conf import settings
 from django.contrib.auth import login, logout, authenticate
 from django.contrib.auth.tokens import default_token_generator
 from django.contrib import messages
+from django.core.cache import cache
 from django.shortcuts import redirect
 from django.http import HttpResponse, JsonResponse
 from django.views.decorators.csrf import csrf_exempt
 import simplejson as json
+import requests
 from .emails import send_verification_email, send_password_reset_email
 from .forms import DemocracyLabUserCreationForm, DemocracyLabUserAddDetailsForm
 from .models import Contributor, get_request_contributor, get_contributor_by_username
@@ -17,6 +20,55 @@
 from salesforce import contact as salesforce_contact
 
 
+def _client_ip(request):
+    forwarded_for = request.META.get('HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR')
+    if forwarded_for:
+        return forwarded_for.split(',')[0].strip()
+    return request.META.get('REMOTE_ADDR', '')
+
+
+def _is_signup_rate_limited(request):
+    ip = _client_ip(request)
+    cache_key = 'signup-attempts:{ip}'.format(ip=ip)
+    limit = settings.SIGNUP_RATE_LIMIT_ATTEMPTS
+    window_seconds = settings.SIGNUP_RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_SECONDS
+
+    attempts = cache.get(cache_key, 0)
+    if attempts >= limit:
+        return True
+
+    if attempts == 0:
+        cache.set(cache_key, 1, timeout=window_seconds)
+    else:
+        try:
+            cache.incr(cache_key)
+        except ValueError:
+            cache.set(cache_key, attempts + 1, timeout=window_seconds)
+    return False
+
+
+def _is_signup_captcha_valid(request):
+    if not settings.GR_SECRETKEY:
+        return True
+
+    recaptcha_value = request.POST.get('reCaptchaValue')
+    if not recaptcha_value:
+        return False
+
+    try:
+        response = requests.post(
+            'https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/siteverify',
+            data={
+                'secret': settings.GR_SECRETKEY,
+                'response': recaptcha_value,
+            },
+            timeout=5,
+        )
+        return response.status_code == 200 and response.json().get('success') is True
+    except Exception:
+        return False
+
+
 def login_view(request, provider=None):
     provider_ids = [p.id for p in registry.get_list()]
     if request.method == 'POST':
@@ -60,17 +112,27 @@ def logout_view(request):
 
 def signup(request):
     if request.method == 'POST':
+        if _is_signup_rate_limited(request):
+            messages.error(request, 'Too many signup attempts. Please wait a minute and try again.')
+            return redirect(section_url(FrontEndSection.SignUp))
+
+        if not _is_signup_captcha_valid(request):
+            messages.error(request, 'Captcha validation failed. Please try again.')
+            return redirect(section_url(FrontEndSection.SignUp))
+
         form = DemocracyLabUserCreationForm(request.POST)
         if form.is_valid():
             email = form.cleaned_data.get('email')
             raw_password = form.cleaned_data.get('password1')
+            subscribe_checked = bool(form.data.get('newsletter_signup'))
             # TODO: Form validation
             contributor = Contributor(
                 username=email.lower(),
                 email=email.lower(),
                 first_name=form.cleaned_data.get('first_name'),
                 last_name=form.cleaned_data.get('last_name'),
-                email_verified=False
+                email_verified=False,
+                newsletter_signup_requested=subscribe_checked,
             )
             contributor.set_password(raw_password)
             contributor.save()
@@ -79,11 +141,6 @@ def signup(request):
             login(request, user)
             send_verification_email(contributor)
 
-            subscribe_checked = form.data.get('newsletter_signup')
-            if subscribe_checked:
-                SubscribeToMailingList(email=contributor.email, first_name=contributor.first_name,
-                                       last_name=contributor.last_name)
-
             SubscribeUserToQiqoChat(contributor)
 
             return redirect(section_url(FrontEndSection.SignedUp))
@@ -139,7 +196,17 @@ def verify_user(request, user_id, token):
         # TODO: Add feedback from the frontend to indicate success/failure
         contributor = Contributor.objects.get(id=user_id)
         contributor.email_verified = True
+        subscribe_to_newsletter = contributor.newsletter_signup_requested
+        contributor.newsletter_signup_requested = False
         contributor.save()
+
+        if subscribe_to_newsletter:
+            SubscribeToMailingList(
+                email=contributor.email,
+                first_name=contributor.first_name,
+                last_name=contributor.last_name,
+            )
+
         return redirect(section_url(FrontEndSection.EmailVerified))
     else:
         return HttpResponse(status=401)