The Incognito Tab in Google Chrome Will Require Your Fingerprint to Unlock

 On Android, Google Chrome's Incognito mode will soon receive an additional security measure. A Privacy Screen feature on various Google apps that required Touch or Face ID for identification was already available on iOS devices, but it is now available on Android devices as well.

Soon, Chrome for Android will include fingerprint authentication for Incognito tab security. When you close Chrome with private tabs open, the program immediately locks them behind biometric authentication.

When you restart Chrome, a grey screen with the Incognito logo in the middle will appear. The text on the page will read "Unlock Incognito," and clicking on it will take you to a screen that requires your fingerprint to unlock it. On the bottom left, there is a PIN option as well. You can return to your regular tabs using other options while the overflow functionality stays in the same place.

When you need to give someone else access to your phone but yet want to keep your private tabs open, this could be useful. When you exit Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Lock Incognito Tabs to manually turn it off.

Since the feature has not yet been widely implemented, some users will have to wait before using it. However, to test the function out for yourself, type the following into the URL bar of your browser:

chrome://flags/#incognito-reauthentication-for-android

Other Google programs, including Drive, Search, Fi, Chrome, and Authenticator for iOS devices, already support fingerprint verification. Although it is called "Privacy Screen," Android still needs a larger implementation of this feature.

It shouldn't take long for everyone to be able to utilize it now that the rollout has begun.

A "Privacy Screen" that needs Touch or Face ID verification was added to several Google apps on iOS in 2020. Your Incognito tabs can now be locked behind your fingerprint in Chrome for Android.

Chrome will immediately lock any open Incognito tabs behind fingerprint authentication when you quit the browser.

A grey screen with the Incognito logo in the middle will appear when the browser is launched to return to those tabs. The system fingerprint sheet is opened by tapping "Unlock Incognito" to "Verify it's you." The bottom-left corner also offers the option to "Use PIN."