- Google Wallet has added a new security function to protect your data
- See anything in the application will require verification after three minutes
- This previously applied to pay payments
As digital wallets have grown in popularity, it has become more important than ever that your safety is certifiably solid. After all, the last thing you need is that the details of your credit card or identity documents fall into the wrong hands.
As seen by 9to5google, the Google Wallet application has made an adjustment destined to protect its safety. Previously, if I was trying to pay something using Google wallet and had passed three minutes since it opened the application for the first time, you will be asked to verify your identity using biometric information (such as a fingerprint or a facial scan) or enter your access code. Now, once they are for three minutes, you will have to verify if you want to use the application, even just seeing your home screen.
This movement protects anything stored in the Google Wallet application, including the details of the payment cards, the tickets, the identity documents and more. It means that intruders are not only prevented from paying things if they have unauthorized access to their device; They will not be able to see anything in the application.
9to5google noticed the change in version 25.18 of the Google Wallet application on Google Pixel and Samsung Smartphones. The departure said that the characteristic seems to be in the tests, but that it has been seen more frequently over time.
It is not the only security change that could reach Google Wallet. According to Reddit's reports, the Wear OS version of the application has required some users to enter each time they make a contactless payment. The Google user apparently told a Reddit user that “this is one of the security measures that Google will take to protect their transactions and the privacy of their account”, which suggests that it could be an intentional feature (instead of an error) that could soon implement other users.
Intensifying security
These days, digital wallet applications are used to store much more than just payment cards. You can carry virtually all your identity on your smartphone, with items as trivial as loyalty cards and day passes together with vital documents such as driver's licenses and credit cards. That means that it is more important than ever that digital wallets maintain their safe content.
The wide variety of items that applications such as Google Wallet can store means that not only needs protection against unauthorized users who spend their effective cattle with so much effort; You may not want your identity documents to appear either. With Google's last movement, obtaining access to that information could be more difficult for bad actors who have physical access to their device.
However, there seems to be a slight period, since the last change only asks for verification after three minutes. We conduct a brief and informal survey of Techradar writers who have Android phones, and only one reported that Google Wallet requested authentication when the application was opened for the first time.
Perhaps Google could further improve your safety by requiring a biometric pin or authentication when Google Wallet opens for the first time, ensuring that your cards are kept safe regardless of whether three minutes have passed or not.
