Chrome will soon let you use biometric data to autofill forms online to protect your passwords
Chrome Unboxed claims that fingerprint and facial recognition will soon be supported for auto-filling web forms. Safari for Mac has supported this for a long time, but Chrome users will need to utilize two-factor authentication or reenter their password to proceed. The Chromium Gerritt source code was discovered to contain an alternate authentication method for auto-filling Chrome passwords. It’s not supposed to be a replacement, and it seems like a toggle switch once it becomes available to the public. Of course, that could alter between now and then.
A similar Chrome setting that lets you utilize biometric data to examine your Chrome passwords was detected a month ago; this new flag is in addition to that. Chrome now requires you to reenter your computer password on Windows and Mac when you wish to access a saved password or use autofill on a web form. If you’re on a Chromebook, you’ll be prompted to enter your Google credentials. Because of the availability of fingerprint authentication in other places (Safari on Mac and Windows Hello on compatible PCs), this procedure may seem unnecessary. You can expect Chrome to follow suit and provide you with similar functionality.
All fingerprint-enabled Windows devices will be able to use the flag, and all Chromium-based browsers, including Microsoft Edge, will support it. If your computer doesn’t support biometric authentication methods, you can still use the flag with a simple face unlock or a 4-digit PIN. Chromebooks that are capable of running this will also benefit. In addition to enhancing safety, this new Chrome flag will help things run much more efficiently. If you use biometric authentication, even if someone gains access to your computer or Google account, they will not be able to view any of your stored passwords.
Protecting private information like phone numbers and credit card numbers while automatically filling them in is also possible with this flag. If you’re using Chrome to make an online purchase, for instance, the browser will ask for your fingerprint to unlock the autofill before proceeding with the transaction. The only thing you’ll have to manually enter is the last three digits of your credit card’s security code. In general, this new option will simplify your experience using Chrome on a Mac or Windows laptop. Neither the stable nor beta versions of Chrome support it at the moment, and there is no foreseeable release date for it. Don’t worry, we’ll let you know as soon as it becomes available.