In the past, biometric unlock in the Chrome extension worked without keeping the desktop vault open.
Please bring this back - we lock/unlock the extension many times daily, and requiring the desktop app each time is impractical. Restoring this option would let us keep the vault secure yet unlock quickly when needed.
Thank you
@talco100 To be honest, I’m a bit confused.
If you mean, that the desktop app (vault) shouldn’t have to be unlocked – I just unlocked my browser extension with biometrics, while the desktop app was locked, but the desktop app itself was “open”/running in the background. So that seems to work as it did before. → and nothing to “bring back”
If you mean the browser extension should be able to use biometrics without the desktop app at all, then that was never there (–> also nothing to “bring back”) and you should join in this existing feature request on that: Browser extension: Biometric authentication without desktop app
I’m going to close this for now - but if you meant something else, please clarify.
Thanks @Nail1684 for asking.
I’ll try to clarify — I think the Chrome extension should be unlockable using phone biometrics alone, without requiring any desktop app.
That way (if it can be technically possible) would be much quicker and convenient while still secure, and we could even strengthen our extension locking rules since unlocking would be much easier when needed.
What do you mean by “using phone biometrics alone”? (the browser extensions are not installed on phones… if they were, then that usage is not supported by Bitwarden)
You may be asking for this other existing feature request then: Add: Unlock with Device ?! (I would think, if that would get added, biometrics probably would (could) be involved when you e.g. were able to unlock the browser extension with the mobile app on your phone)
Another idea: if you had a passkey on your phone then that could be used with biometrics to unlock something (in theory… as it’s not implemented in Bitwarden at the moment)… and then, we would arrive at this next feature request: Unlock with FIDO2/“passkeys”
PS: And as I understand biometrics, those only work - in a stricter sense - locally on the same device. Biometrics on your phone don’t have a direct connection to the browser extension on your desktop computer or laptop. – So I would think, either “Unlock with device” or “FIDO2/“passkey”-unlock” would be good candidates for what you’re asking.
Sorry if my English isn’t clear enough…
In other words - when I want to unlock the Chrome extention on my computer, in order to use it to fill in a password (as we do many times a day :-)), I want to use my phone biometric instead of manually tuping PIN or Master password which is cumbersome.
So there is some connection needed here between the computer and my phone as the phone is the one identify me in order to unlock the chrome extention on may laptop.
Or - even use the laptop biometrics will be great.
(maybe that was what mentioned in the first link you’ve just pasted, I wasen’t 100% sure)
Okay, so I think - to sum it up again - this is already covered in those two existing feature requests, so please join in there:
And what is even greater: this is still possible right now - with the desktop app. (if you experience difficulties to do that, then please open a new thread in the “Ask the Community” section to get some assistance for configuring that again)
And if you want it completely without the desktop app, then here again the existing feature request for that: Browser extension: Biometric authentication without desktop app
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It is not technically possible — and it was never previously possible — to biometrically unlock the Bitwarden browser extension without having the Bitwarden desktop app simultaneously running in the background.
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