Chrome’s New Android Feature Adds Biometric Check For Autofill Passwords
Google Chrome , a widely popular web browser with billions of users globally, is frequently relied upon for saving login details like usernames and passwords for multiple websites.
In recent times, however, cybercriminals have leveraged info-stealing malware , such as StealC, to exploit this convenience by extracting stored credentials. To combat this growing threat, Google is reportedly developing a new security feature for the Android version of Chrome that will require biometric verification to autofill saved login information.
A recent post on X (formerly Twitter) by Leopeva64, a well-known source for spotting upcoming software changes, highlighted that Chrome's Canary version for Android has introduced a flag requiring fingerprint or facial recognition before auto-filling passwords.
Users interested in enabling this feature must first download the Canary build of Chrome from the Play Store. Once installed, they can activate the feature by typing “chrome://flags” into the address bar and enabling the option labeled “#biometric-auth-identity-check.”
Since this feature is currently only available in the experimental Canary version of Chrome, it may be a while before it’s rolled out to the stable version. Canary builds are designed for users who enjoy testing new functionalities ahead of wider release.
Interestingly, Google had experimented with a similar feature for Chrome in the past but opted not to release it broadly, despite the fact that competing browsers like Microsoft Edge have had similar protections in place for some time.
In addition to these security improvements, Google recently rolled out several new features to the desktop version of Chrome, including Google Lens integration, a Tab Compare tool, and AI-powered history search capabilities.
In recent times, however, cybercriminals have leveraged info-stealing malware , such as StealC, to exploit this convenience by extracting stored credentials. To combat this growing threat, Google is reportedly developing a new security feature for the Android version of Chrome that will require biometric verification to autofill saved login information.
A recent post on X (formerly Twitter) by Leopeva64, a well-known source for spotting upcoming software changes, highlighted that Chrome's Canary version for Android has introduced a flag requiring fingerprint or facial recognition before auto-filling passwords.
Users interested in enabling this feature must first download the Canary build of Chrome from the Play Store. Once installed, they can activate the feature by typing “chrome://flags” into the address bar and enabling the option labeled “#biometric-auth-identity-check.”
Since this feature is currently only available in the experimental Canary version of Chrome, it may be a while before it’s rolled out to the stable version. Canary builds are designed for users who enjoy testing new functionalities ahead of wider release.
Interestingly, Google had experimented with a similar feature for Chrome in the past but opted not to release it broadly, despite the fact that competing browsers like Microsoft Edge have had similar protections in place for some time.
In addition to these security improvements, Google recently rolled out several new features to the desktop version of Chrome, including Google Lens integration, a Tab Compare tool, and AI-powered history search capabilities.
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