Google Testing Biometric Authentication for Autofill

Google has begun testing the addition of a layer of biometric authentication for its Google Autofill feature for use with Android and Google Chrome.

With the release of Android Oreo (8.0) in 2017, Google also launched the Autofill API, which allowed third-party password manager apps the ability to offer an autofill service on Android devices, and gave users the option to securely fill in their passwords and payment info in apps.

Google Autofill is Google’s own version of that same service, and can be activated on any device running Android 8.0 or later and with Google Play Services installed.

Most third party password manager apps offer some form of biometric authentication for an added layer of security when using their autofilling service, and according to a recent report from XDA Developers, Google is working on bringing this same biometric security feature to Google Autofill, which currently requires no user authentication.

The feature will be handled by the recently introduced (in September’s release of Android 10) BiometricPrompt API, which means users will be able to use their fingerprint, iris scanner, or face unlock to authenticate autofill requests.

XDA performed an ‘APK teardown’, in which they were able to test out the functionality on a Pixel 4 and use Face Unlock to authenticate the autofill in the Reddit app.

Source: XDA Developers