More Chrome OS Code Points to Biometric Security Focus on Chromebook

New code for the Chrome OS suggests that a forthcoming Chromebook laptop will feature fingerprint-based biometric security.

The code snippets concern the enrolment of fingerprints in a Chrome OS device, and indicate that the user can register up to three fingerprints at a time, with the option of resetting them later. And, as 9to5Google points out, the lines of code also get pretty specific about this functionality, with one including a user prompt that reads, “Touch the sensor with your index finger. It’s on the top left of your Chromebook.”

Chrome OS has supported fingerprint authentication since last year, but no Chromebook devices have yet featured the necessary hardware. The recently discovered code suggests there is a refined user interface on the way, and as AndroidHeadlines reports, is “has actually already been merged and all indications appear to show that the feature is added at the system level,” suggesting that a fingerprint-scanning Chromebook might really be in the pipeline.

The code’s discovery comes in the same week as that of other bits of code indicating that support for facial recognition is also coming to Chrome OS. That all suggests that Google is planning to make biometric authentication a key component of its forthcoming Chrome OS devices, a strategy that lines up with its strengthened focus on promoting strong biometric security on the latest version of its Android mobile operating system.

Sources: Android Headlines, 9to5Google