1Password has enabled biometric authentication for people using its password manager on a desktop computer. The feature arrives with the latest 2.0 version of the company’s browser extension, which allows people to verify their identities with Touch ID on Macs, or Windows Hello on Windows 10 devices. The update also supports some Linux biometric systems.
Anyone interested in taking advantage of the new feature will need to install the desktop version of the 1Password app in order to enjoy the full benefits of biometric authentication. However, the update does come with several other improvements that will be applied with or without the app. Most notably, the streamlined user interface will make it easier to save and update passwords directly through the browser, and the extension now comes with a strong password generator that will automatically recommend a password that meets a site’s character requirements when the user opens a new account.
Other features include a new dark mode that makes 1Password easier to use at night, and QR code detection capabilities for the Epic Games website. The dark mode can be applied within the 1Password popup, and when the extension makes an on-page suggestion.
The update should simplify the login process for those using desktop computers, and deliver an experience that is more consistent with the one already available on mobile devices. In that regard, the company enabled fingerprint authentication on Android devices with 1Password 6.0 back in 2016, and it would later add support for the Face Unlock feature on the Google Pixel 4 phone shortly after the handset debuted in 2019. The iOS version, on the other hand, has been compatible with Touch ID for more than half a decade, with a utility that dates all the way back to the iPhone 5S.
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