Google Chrome for iOS is experimenting with Face ID and Touch ID
Soon you will be able to lock tabs in the iOS version of Google Chrome with Face ID and Touch ID. As a result, the contents of these windows are not visible until the iPhone has scanned your face or fingerprint. It is still a test.
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Google Chrome for iOS is experimenting with Face ID
The discovery was made by 9to5Google. According to the website, Google has released an update for the trial version of Chrome on iOS, the operating system of the iPhone. The most important addition is that you can lock tabs with Face ID and Touch ID, either through facial recognition or a fingerprint.
The new feature only works when using Google Chrome’s incognito mode. The contents of the tabs only become visible when your iPhone has verified your identity via facial recognition, or the pattern of your fingerprint.
Until then, the windows will remain blurred, so that others cannot check which websites you visit. This is useful, for example, when you temporarily give your iPhone to a friend, but don’t want him / her to be able to view your open tabs.
Become a beta tester of Google Chrome
The function must be turned on manually and is currently only usable for beta testers of the Google Chrome app for iOS. Test users turn on the additional encryption via the browser’s settings menu. Then tap on ‘Privacy’ and choose ‘Lock Incognito Tabs’ to activate the feature. We do not yet know when the function can be used by everyone.
To be a beta user of Google Chrome, you must access the TestFlight version of the app. This allows you to participate in test versions of apps. Currently, Google Chrome’s iOS beta is full, but you can always try it later.
Browsing with Google Chrome
Since iOS 14, the iPhone software version that came out in 2020, you can choose Google Chrome as the default browser. As soon as you do this, links and websites are automatically opened in the Google browser, instead of Safari.
iOS 14 gives iPhone users more freedom of choice anyway. Since then, it has also been possible, for example, to choose another standard iOS search engine, such as Microsoft’s privacy-friendly DuckDuckGo or Bing.
Read more: iOS 14: How to set Google Chrome as the default browser on your iPhone
