Google is now boosting the security of their Chromebooks with some new and additional features inspired by Android devices, like having a fingerprint scanner and a PIN unlock feature which will simplify user authentication procedures without weakening security.
As of now, by default, when Chrome OS users lock devices, they have to unlock them by typing in their Google account password.
If the user is conscious about his account’s security, he will probably using a long and complex password. If the Chromebook is set to auto-lock or if the user locks his laptop on a regular basis, always typing in a long password can get annoying pretty quickly.
Tthe reporters at Chrome Unboxed found that according to a commit in the Chrome OS source code, future Chromebooks may soon have a fingerprint scanner which would make unlocking the device much simpler, but also secure at the same time.
The Chrome OS update was spotted in Gru, which is the baseboard code for the upcoming line of “Kevin” Chromebooks.
Fingerprint scanners are currently supported on all modern smartphones and the tablets and are extremely easy to use and loved by their users.
The feature is so popular and requested these days that Acer integrated a fingerprint scanner in the touchpad of its upcoming Swift 7 laptop series, so it’s certainly more than just a temporary fad.