Google on Tuesday announced it’s expanding Chrome’s “virtual credit card” safety feature to American Express customers. The update is one of several the tech giant is rolling out as part of Safer Internet Day.
Launched last year for Capital One cardholders, virtual cards create unique numbers for online transactions. The feature is designed to protect you from fraud by withholding your real card number from merchants. If the merchant suffers a data breach, the virtual card number can be replaced, and you won’t have to replace your physical card. Apple has the same type of feature for the Apple Card.
Also: What are virtual credit card numbers and how do they work?
Google is also giving its users more safety and privacy features that rely on biometrics. First, Google is adding a biometric authentication option to Google Password Manager in Chrome and Android. Password Manager autofills passwords on your computer or phone. With the new feature, the tool will use biometrics to verify it’s you using the device before filling in the saved password. You can also use biometric authentication to securely reveal, copy or edit passwords without typing in your computer password every time.
Meanwhile, Google is also tapping Face ID on the iPhone to give users on the Google app more privacy. Soon, iOS users will be able to use Face ID so that if someone else has their device, they won’t be able to open the Google app and gain access to data.
