We all tend to forget our passwords when we have registered for too many services online with different passwords. Most of us use password managers to keep away the burden of remembering our highly secure passwords and make it easier to secure them. The password autofill functionality easily fills out the login credentials on other apps and other login forms. Google Password Manager is one of the most popular password managers in the market. Most third-party password apps require you to verify your identity before filling up the login form automatically. However, Google Password Manager didn’t use to verify your identity and released the login details to the third-party apps as long as your phone was unlocked. It was a big security shortcoming.
Google has recently rolled out a new password autofill feature that would now require biometric authentication. The search giant has done some server-side updates to the Play Services that fix the major security vulnerability. Now users would require to authenticate themselves using a fingerprint sensor or face lock before they can autofill the passwords. To enable it, go to Settings > Google > Autofill > Autofill with Google > Autofill Security > Credentials. The first report of this feature was found on AndroidPolice.
Recent Changes in Google Password Autofill
After you turn on the feature in Autofill Security, whenever you use an app on your android phone that requires you to fill in the login details or addresses, you can simply autofill them by authenticating using your biometrics. Last month also Google had announced to roll out a similar feature on the Chrome browser.
According to Google, “Chrome uses the W3C standard WebAuthn to securely enroll you for biometric authentication. Biometric information never leaves your device.” So, whenever Android users use Google chrome to sign in to web applications or do online payments, they require biometric authentication to confirm their login or credit card details. Google says that it is optional for the users to turn on/off this feature.
