Most of your popular password managers have moved to focus on browser extensions more than anything else (ie, a standalone app). It makes integration with websites and web-based applications easier to interact with. However, this does make it difficult for these services to take advantage of some of your more advanced options. Options that standalone apps generally can access quite easily.
So these companies have been scrambling to find ways to still make it happen for the extensions, specifically shining the spotlight on biometric access. In the meantime, it looks like 1Password has turned in the opposite direction to focus on delivering this option by leaning on a desktop app.
Companies like Dashlane have been talking about wanting to offer biometric access to their extensions ever since they started moving away from the standalone desktop options. However, we still have yet to see it happen just yet. This may mean these companies are still limited by what the browsers are allowing them access to.
Meanwhile, 1Password is moving on ahead to other items on its agenda as biometrics has officially been delivered to the company’s userbase by connecting the browser extensions to the desktop app. As long as you have the app installed, the browser extension will be able to talk directly to it, allowing you to gain access to biometrics for unlocking things.
This is going to be incredibly important as the world (slowly) transitions away from using normal passwords for security. There has been such a heavy push towards alternatives like biometrics. So it wasn’t going to be long before these companies followed suit with such features and support.
As long as you have the app installed and updated, you should be good to go. The browser extension should automatically update on its own. Once everything is up to date, you will find you now have access to these features.
