Google is reportedly working on adding an identity check feature to the list of novel security features in Chrome for Android that would require apps to use biometric authentication if your phone is not in a trusted location.
Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman described the upcoming feature in a report. If the feature is enabled, it would require stronger biometric authentication, such as scanning your fingerprints or face, for apps that typically allow authentication through PIN, passcode, pattern, etc.
The feature can be particularly helpful, since smartphones today hold a wealth of financial and personal information, which is a prime target of data thefts in case the device is stolen. Google already has many features that prevent thieves from keeping your phone unlocked after they’ve stolen it. These include artificial intelligence-based advanced security such as Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock that Google introduced in Android 15.
However, in the off chance someone manages to watch a user put a device password or pattern and then steals the device too, they won’t be able to access sensitive apps or Google account settings simply by knowing the passkey/pattern. The Identity Check will add an extra degree of security by requiring biometric authentication to access crucial settings such as “changing your PIN, disabling theft protection or accessing Passkeys from an untrusted location,” Google said in its blog.
According to Rahman’s report, an operating system specialist predicts that the feature will be integrated with Google Chrome in addition to Android. The feature’s code has been reportedly incorporated into the Chrome browser’s password autofill function and is also beginning to appear in code connected to incognito mode, payment methods and sync settings.
It is unknown when the feature will be released, and so far Google has said that Identity Check security will be introduced “later this year.”