In an attempt to give users more control over their experience, Google has introduced a Bluetooth UI in the latest version of the Chrome browser. While Bluetooth connectivity has been supported for quite some time, users didn’t have the option of selecting which web pages got access to which Bluetooth devices. This is a bit of a security hazard and just generally can be frustrating for the average user, so an update like this will most likely be received quite warmly.
The UI that incorporates website permissions will now have a Bluetooth section in it as well, which can be enabled from Chrome Canary experimental flag section (chrome://flags/#enable-web-bluetooth-new-permissions-backend). This can allow you to toggle access to any Bluetooth device that you might have connected to your computer. The API has also been altered. Previously with no UI in place to give users control, the API automatically disconnected devices that had been inactive for three minutes. Now that users have the ability to toggle permissions on and off, such a thing is no longer necessary. Hence, the API will now allow the connection to remain regardless of active use or disuse, leaving it up to the user to leave a device connected or to rescind permission at any point.
Hat Tip: Techtsp.
Another update is coming to Google too, and it’s one that could truly change the eCommerce game quite a bit. In collaboration with payment processing platform Stripe, Google will soon be adding an option to pay via Touch ID on the desktop version of Chrome. This will be a more convenient and faster alternative to putting in one’s CVV.
Users that make a purchase through Chrome would receive a prompt suggesting that they add their credit cards and make them accessible via Touch ID. The authentication used to ensure that users would be able to make secure payments is 3D Secure 2.0 authentication, and Google’s WebAuthn will also be used to keep payments secure.
This can greatly simplify the online payment process for the average user. This can very likely lead to a higher volume of sales, something that the entire eCommerce industry would benefit from. Everyone from eBay shop owners to Amazon itself will probably earn a lot more money thanks to payments being made so simple. However, this update is yet to be rolled out. It remains to be seen whether there would be any problems that would prevent this feature from being truly useful.
Via: Tanmay Patange.
Read next: Latest Version of Google Chrome Brings Incognito Mode Update With Read Later Feature Coming Soon
The UI that incorporates website permissions will now have a Bluetooth section in it as well, which can be enabled from Chrome Canary experimental flag section (chrome://flags/#enable-web-bluetooth-new-permissions-backend). This can allow you to toggle access to any Bluetooth device that you might have connected to your computer. The API has also been altered. Previously with no UI in place to give users control, the API automatically disconnected devices that had been inactive for three minutes. Now that users have the ability to toggle permissions on and off, such a thing is no longer necessary. Hence, the API will now allow the connection to remain regardless of active use or disuse, leaving it up to the user to leave a device connected or to rescind permission at any point.
Hat Tip: Techtsp.
Another update is coming to Google too, and it’s one that could truly change the eCommerce game quite a bit. In collaboration with payment processing platform Stripe, Google will soon be adding an option to pay via Touch ID on the desktop version of Chrome. This will be a more convenient and faster alternative to putting in one’s CVV.
Users that make a purchase through Chrome would receive a prompt suggesting that they add their credit cards and make them accessible via Touch ID. The authentication used to ensure that users would be able to make secure payments is 3D Secure 2.0 authentication, and Google’s WebAuthn will also be used to keep payments secure.
This can greatly simplify the online payment process for the average user. This can very likely lead to a higher volume of sales, something that the entire eCommerce industry would benefit from. Everyone from eBay shop owners to Amazon itself will probably earn a lot more money thanks to payments being made so simple. However, this update is yet to be rolled out. It remains to be seen whether there would be any problems that would prevent this feature from being truly useful.
Via: Tanmay Patange.
Read next: Latest Version of Google Chrome Brings Incognito Mode Update With Read Later Feature Coming Soon
