In the modern online landscape, users crave a seamless browsing encounter, free from the ceaseless verification hoops demanding proof of their human identity. CAPTCHAs, long a source of collective frustration, have compelled individuals to decipher traffic signals and spot buses to prove their humanity. Yet, a glimmer of relief is emerging on the horizon, as significant strides are being taken to alleviate this perpetual need for validation.
Recently, Google Chrome ushered in a novel auto-verify feature for CAPTCHAs, and now, Microsoft Edge is treading the same path with its Android edition. The Dev and Canary channels of Edge are currently in the process of introducing this functionality. Once enabled, this setting empowers websites – where a user’s humanity was verified in the past – to store a digital token comparable to a cookie. This stored “evidence” can then be accessed by other websites to ascertain the user’s human status, all without divulging their browsing history. The collaboration between Edge and websites independently verifies the user’s human identity.
Moreover, the Android variant of Edge is poised to incorporate an “On-device encryption” alternative, which will locally encrypt stored passwords before synchronizing them with Microsoft’s password manager service. However, this feature is still in its preliminary stages and remains inactive on the desktop version.
Microsoft’s heightened investment in the Android iteration of its increasingly favored browser is indeed a positive development. As the lawsuit over Google Chrome’s Incognito Mode casts its shadow, innovations from other contenders in the browser arena hold greater significance than ever before. At the very least, the era of incessant and vexing CAPTCHA verifications appears to be nearing its end.