Google Chrome Beta on iOS Lets You Lock Incognito Tabs With Face ID

Google is testing a new feature for its Google Chrome app for iOS, which will let Incognito tabs be locked with either Face ID or Touch ID on an iPhone or iPad.

chrome beta incognito authentication
As highlighted by 9to5Google, the latest Chrome beta will blur Incognito tabs in the Chrome app until confirmed with the ‌iPhone‌'s biometric authentication.

The feature can be enabled by going to Settings > Privacy > Lock Incognito tabs when you close Chrome. There's a similar option in the Google Search app that confirms identity with ‌Face ID‌ or ‌Touch ID‌ when returning to an incognito search session after 15 minutes, and there's also a privacy lock built into Google Drive.

Google has not updated the Chrome app for iOS since November as it is delaying new versions of most of its apps at the current time. It's not clear when the new feature might launch in the release version of Chrome, but Chrome 89 is expected to launch next month.

The Incognito tab locking feature is limited to beta testers at the current time, and according to 9to5Google, not all beta users are able to access the locking option as there is a server-side element involved.

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...

Top Rated Comments

kiensoy Avatar
52 months ago
Geez... then maybe this post is not for you guys. I’m not sure why the need of fanboys to go and attack the competition. I also use Safari but that sounds like a nice feature.


Yeah, Nah, no thanks, I’ll stick with the best browser in the world SAFARI. ?

No thanks. Safari is safe, fast, and transparent. no need for
chrome.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrTechAdvice Avatar
52 months ago
No thanks. Safari is safe, fast, and transparent. no need for
chrome.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IllinoisCorn Avatar
52 months ago
Under the hood, Chrome for iOS is largely the same as Safari, so when people talk about Safari SPEED on iOS versus other browsers, they lose me.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Psychicbob Avatar
52 months ago
Very secure. Only you and the whole of the Google Corp and all their business partners know what you’ve been looking at.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Piggie Avatar
52 months ago
Correct me if I'm wrong.
But I'm sure I recall over the past many years, whenever they had those cracking/exploit competitions that they used to hold before Covid.
Safari was always the first to get hacked/cracked into.

Sure I remember hearing about this every year in the past.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rebel22lax Avatar
52 months ago

Pretty cool idea, BUT...if someone was trying to access your locked Incognito tabs on your iOS device then wouldn't your device have already been compromised? Honest question. Just trying to wrap my head around when this would actually be useful.
yea... but I look at it like this if someone were to break into your house that would suck but they can't break into your bedroom that would suck less
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)