TL; DR
- Google Chrome for Android is now getting a great way to lock incognito tabs behind a fingerprint.
- The feature isn’t widely rolled out, but you can still enable it right now if you want.
Chrome for Android is getting a handy privacy feature, which makes browsing in incognito mode even more discreet. The browser now has a setting to lock and unlock private browsing tabs behind your fingerprint.
The feature is similar to the biometric lock support that Google introduced in the Drive app for iOS in 2020. The feature is part of the app’s privacy screen settings and allows users to lock and unlock access to Google Drive on iPhone using Face ID or touch. ID
On Android, Chrome locks incognito tabs once you exit the app. When you restart the browser and try to access those tabs again, you’ll see a gray screen with an “Open incognito” option at the bottom of the screen. Reopening tabs requires fingerprint authentication. Don’t use fingerprint sensors? You can also hide tabs behind pins. Although the former may be a better option as other people may know your phone’s PIN.
Of course, not all of this happens automatically. You have to enable the feature from the app’s privacy and security settings, where you’ll find a new option titled “Lock incognito tabs when you exit Chrome.”
This is a great feature, especially when you need to lend your phone to someone and don’t want them to suddenly open private tabs.
9to5Google He reports that the feature has not yet been widely released. However, you can now enable it on recent Android versions with the following Chrome flag.
chrome://flags/#notify-re-authentication-for-android
A stable release of the feature should also follow soon.