Chrome is sporting a fresh look after its tenth birthday, but the development team is still working on new features. These include new authentication methods, shape recognition and more.
A recent Chromium blog post lays out the new things developers are testing in the Chrome 70 beta.
One big security improvement in Chrome 70: the browser will be able to utilize the fingerprint scanner on MacBooks and Android phones.
That means users can scan their finger as a secondary form of authentication. This should go a long way to making the web more secure.
Furthermore, there are a number of new APIs for shape recognition. One is for face detection, which can scan for eyes, nose and mouth. This suggests facial recognition could become part of the Chrome browser.
Additionally, the browser will be able to recognize barcodes and Latin text using the other shape detection APIs.
Next steps of a secure web
Also on the security front, Chrome is pushing ahead with it’s ‘Secure by default’ initiative. The Chrome team wants the default status of the web to be secure. As such, the team has been slowly changing how Chrome displays ‘HTTPS’ and ‘HTTP’ tags in browsers.
With Chrome 70, the ‘Not secure’ tag that appears on HTTP websites when you begin entering a password or email will turn red.
The browser will also exit fullscreen mode when dialogue boxes appear. This should help make it clear where these pop-ups come from so that users aren’t fooled by scams.
Finally, the 70 beta has support for Web Bluetooth on Windows 10. This allows websites to securely communicate with nearby devices. This feature has been available since Chrome 56 for Android, ChromeOS and macOS.
You can read the full list of updates and changes here.
Source: Chromium Blog Via: Engadget
