WhatsApp has started rolling out support for a new feature that will allow you to log into your account using biometric authentication on your smartphone. Messaging services will soon allow you to create a key on your device (a login credential that doesn’t require using or remembering a password) and use it to securely log into apps and services using facial recognition or a fingerprint scanner. your device.
Feature Tracker WABetaInfo spot On Tuesday, the new password feature in WhatsApp beta version 2.23.20.4 for Android will be rolled out to beta users. However, not all users who update to the latest beta version will have access to the feature, which is reportedly being rolled out to a “limited number of testers.” Gadgets 360 is unable to access this feature on two different Android smartphones that are both enrolled in the beta program.
New key feature on WhatsApp
Image source: WABetaInfo
In a screenshot shared by Feature Tracker, the new key feature is described as a “simple way to log in securely” to WhatsApp. This means it can be used to help log in to other devices through secure authentication on the primary device.
Using master keys for authentication isn’t a new concept, and the technology is slowly gaining traction online – Google already lets you log in to new devices using fingerprint-based biometric authentication instead of a password. These keys are stored securely on your device and used when providing biometric authentication.
The screenshot posted by WABetaInfo also states that WhatsApp will store the key in the device’s password manager – for most users, this will be the device’s default password storage, which is handled by Google and supports autofill. This feature is also expected to come to iOS and may be stored in the iOS keychain.
It is unclear whether WhatsApp also supports storing keys in third-party applications such as Bitwarden, 1Password or Dashlane. We can expect to learn more about how the feature works as it rolls out to more users in the beta program, and the feature is expected to roll out to all smartphones on the stable channel in the future.
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