Google Chrome on Android is testing new password protection. It will autofill them only after fingerprint verification

Do you sometimes lend your unlocked phone to children or a friend? Then you might be concerned that Google Chrome readily autofills saved passwords for anyone currently holding the phone. But that could change. Google is testing a safeguard on Android that will make the browser insert login credentials only after fingerprint or face verification. However, if you are sure that no one can access your mobile phone, this could be a rather annoying intermediate step.

How will the new safeguard in Chrome work?

The feature was spotted by browser expert Leopeva64, who on X published screenshots from the latest version of Chrome Canary. It contains an experimental toggle called Biometric reauth for password filling. When you enable it and tap on your account in the saved passwords menu on a website with a saved account, Chrome will first trigger biometric verification and only then fill in the username and password.

Over a year ago, Google tested a feature in Chrome for Android that required authentication before autofilling passwords, but it was removed shortly after and never reached stable. Well, this feature has been brought back in Canary and Google added a dedicated flag to enable it: https://t.co/h9x3XzvHzf pic.twitter.com/z0no85cmrt

— Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) September 30, 2026

In practice, this means that simply unlocking the phone will no longer be enough. Anyone who gets hold of your unlocked phone today, whether they find it on a table or snatch it directly from your hand, can log in to any website where you have a password saved in Chrome. Additional verification would close this path for them.

iPhone owners have known similar protection for a long time. Safari typically requires Face ID or Touch ID before automatically filling in passwords, so Google is rather catching up with the competition in this regard.

Why might the feature not make it to stable Chrome?

Google is not coming up with this idea for the first time. According to the expert mentioned, it has been experimenting with verification before password autofill since at least September 2024. Last August, the feature made it into the Chrome Dev and Canary test versions, but it never reached the stable browser and eventually disappeared. Now it’s back.

It doesn’t even work reliably yet. An editor at Android Authority enabled the toggle on his Pixel 8, but the verification did not appear even after reverting to an older Canary version where the feature works for other users. Google has not officially announced the new feature and has no timeline for a stable version, so it might quietly withdraw it again, just like last time.

How to activate the feature now?

You will need the Chrome Canary app from the Google Play Store, which is an unstable version of the browser intended for testing. Even then, you are not guaranteed that the verification will appear – the app version itself seemingly doesn’t decide, and the feature is likely enabled only for selected users.

1. In the Chrome Canary address bar, type chrome://flags.
2. Find the toggle Biometric reauth for password filling and set it to Enabled.
3. Restart the browser and open a website where you have a password saved.

Would you like Chrome to ask for a fingerprint before every password autofill?

Sources: X, Android Authority, Android Central, SammyGuru