Google revives Chrome for Android test requiring biometrics before password autofill

Google is testing authentication before Chrome for Android autofills saved passwords. The browser may require a fingerprint, facial recognition or another supported identity check before entering credentials into a field.

The feature was found in the latest Chrome Canary build. Google added a flag named “Biometric reauth for password filling”, first noticed by the X user Leopeva64.

The feature was tested before

Google tested a similar mechanism more than a year ago but removed it before it reached Chrome’s stable version. Its return to Canary indicates continued development only: no stable-release date has been announced.

Android Central said enabling the feature may trigger reauthentication when a user taps saved credentials. A phone’s regular unlock may therefore no longer be sufficient to access the password store.

Password protection in Chromium

The check would add another security step to Google Password Manager. Chromium already contains technical components and internal metrics tracking whether biometric authentication is enabled before autofill and recording the result of the reauthentication attempt.

Chrome’s official Android help documentation says reauthentication for access to sensitive information is enabled by default. Depending on the device, it can use a fingerprint, facial recognition or the screen lock.

iPhone already supports the feature

On Apple devices, Face ID or Touch ID can verify a user while Safari autofills saved usernames and passwords. Chrome’s tested mechanism appears to perform the check when the browser requests a saved password.

Chrome Canary remains a testing environment, and Google has not said whether or when the feature will become available to all users.